4 Dec 2015

Dortmund Star warns: Klopp is 'special' but he'll fail at Liverpool 'if the players' reject his 'philosophy'

The plaudits for Reds boss Jurgen Klopp just keep on coming, and on-loan Borussia Dortmund attacker Jakob Blaszczykowski is the latest player to lionise Liverpool's new manager.

Speaking to Four Four Two Magazine this week, Blaszczykowski - a regular target for Liverpool - hailed Klopp as a 'great coach' and outlined two main reasons why the German is such a 'special' manager:

* He’s a 'great psychologist' who 'makes decisions based on what he sees, not what other people are telling him'.

* He is 'honest with people' and 'knows how to deal with different characters and different egos'.

Blaszczykowski also had the following advice for Liverpool's players:

“He [Klopp] will succeed, but only if the players buy into his philosophy. That’s what we did at Borussia and it paid off. They just need to trust him. He knows what he’s doing, on and off the field".

Perhaps this is a veiled 'come and get me' plea from Blaszcykowski, who has been linked with Liverpool many times in the past. The most recent link came in August, when The Independent claimed:

"Liverpool are eying a late £10m swoop for Blaszczykowski...and will be able to improve the 29-year-old's £1.8m-a-year wage package with Dortmund".

So far, it seems like Liverpool's players are definitely 'buying into' Klopp's philosophy, but that's hardly surprising. What else are they going to do - reject the new manager's methods and risk being marginalised, and ultimately sold off?

Klopp is doing a great job so far, but it's early days yet, yet some fans are getting carried away to a ridiculous extent. Indeed, some ex-Reds are already claiming that Liverpool are now title contenders (!)

As last season shows, Klopp is not infallible; Dortmund's players also bought into the German's philosophy, but that didn't stop the club having (for the most part) a disastrous season (during which Dortmund spent time at the bottom of the table).

Everyone raves about Klopp's 'gegenpressing' style, and right now, it's working (mainly away from home) as teams are still adapting to that approach. However, in my view, Premier League teams will quickly figure this approach, and Klopp will need to adapt, which will be difficult with the reduced training time that comes with playing 2-3 games every week.

Interesting times ahead.

Author: Jaimie K


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