Jürgen Klopp

Jürgen Norbert Klopp (German pronunciation: [ˈjʏɐ̯ɡən ˈklɔp]; born 16 June 1967) is a German football manager and former professional player who is the current manager of English Premier League club Liverpool.

Klopp spent almost his entire 15-year playing career at Mainz 05, before going on to become their longest-serving manager from 2001 to 2008, during which time they achieved promotion to the Bundesliga. In 2008, Klopp joined Borussia Dortmund, leading them to back-to-back Bundesliga wins in 2011 and 2012, as well as the DFB-Pokal in 2012, the DFL-Supercup in 2008, 2013 and 2014, and their second appearance in a Champions League final in 2013. Klopp won the German Football Manager of the Year in 2011 and 2012, before leaving Dortmund in 2015 having also become their longest-serving manager. He became manager of Liverpool in October 2015.

Playing career

Junior career

Klopp was born in Stuttgart, the state capital of Baden-Württemberg, and grew up in the countryside, in the Black Forest village of Glatten near Freudenstadt, with two older sisters. He started playing for Tus Ergenzingen as a junior player, with the next stint at 1. FC Pforzheim and then at three Frankfurt clubs, SG Eintracht Frankfurt (Under 23), Viktoria Sindlingen and Rot-Weiss Frankfurt, during adolescence. In 1990, in the play-off matches with RW Frankfurt against FSV Mainz 05 for the promotion to the 2. Bundesliga, he caught the special attention of the Mainz manager and was signed by them the same summer, thus becoming a senior professional football player.