Liverpool confirm Jürgen Klopp as LFC manager

Jurgen Klopp has been appointed Liverpool's new manager on a three-year deal

Jürgen Klopp is the new Liverpool manager. The Anfield club confirmed the appointment of the former Borussia Dortmund coach after he signed an initial three-year contract worth £5m a year rising to £7m with bonuses making him the highest paid manager in Liverpool’s history.

Klopp put pen to paper on his Liverpool contract at the city’s Hope Street hotel in the company of the chairman, Tom Werner, and chief executive, Ian Ayre, on Thursday night shortly after arriving at John Lennon airport in a private plane from Dortmund. The final details of his deal had been agreed between club officials and representatives of the 48-year-old in Germany prior to his departure, and he will be unveiled at a 10am press conference at Anfield on Friday.

“Liverpool football club are delighted to announce Jürgen Klopp has been appointed as the club’s new manager,” said a statement. “The German coach has signed a deal to take the helm at the Reds and will be presented at a press conference at Anfield on Friday morning.”

The club kept the announcement brief but the arrival of the charismatic coach has had a major impact on Liverpool supporters and already led to the departures of four members of Brendan Rodgers’ backroom staff. The assistant manager, Sean O’Driscoll, first-team coach, Gary McAllister, head of performance, Glen Driscoll, and head of opposition analysis, Chris Davies, were all relieved of their duties on Thursday as Klopp’s authority was made immediately apparent.

After signing his contract, Klopp had dinner at Hope Street with Werner, Ayre and several members of Liverpool’s remaining coaching staff – the development coach, Pepijn Lijnders, goalkeeping coach John Achterberg, academy director Alex Inglethorpe, head physio Chris Morgan and first-team doctor Andy Massey.

An agreement on Klopp’s own coaching team was reached earlier this week and the two-times Bundesliga champion will be joined at Anfield by Zeljko Buvac and Peter Krawietz, his former assistant and analyst at Dortmund respectively.

Klopp’s appointment came only four days after Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool’s owner, sacked Rodgers amid concern over poor results and performances dating back several months. The Boston-based owner moved decisively to offer Klopp a contract following the removal of Rodgers on Sunday, though the former Mainz coach was acutely aware of the interest beforehand having been approached by FSG on two previous occasions.


From theguardian.com