Jurgen Klopp: A perfect replacement for Sir Alex at Old Trafford

Jurgen Klopp is a funny man. A week before the highly anticipated Real Madrid- Dortmund CL semifinal first leg, Mourinho complained that Klopp was talking too much about their clash. The Dortmund manager responded by saying: “Mourinho says I talk a lot? That’s what one of my teachers used to say. I’ll shut up, then.” A 4-1 hammering of Real Madrid ensued. It’s a rarity that a manager gets better of Mourinho, impeccably known as the master of mind games.

Klopp is one of those guys in football who you can never stop loving. He is an adorable and a lovable character who is well liked by the German media. His witty and funny post match conferences are a treat for the journalists present and fans alike. The bespectacled, charismatic manager doesn’t hold back when he is a taking a dig at rival managers or clubs. A while back, he said this about their main Bundesliga rivals, “Bayern go about football in the same way that the Chinese go about industry. They look at what the others are doing, and then they copy it with other people and more money. And then they overtake you.” He does remind you of a great manager who is well known for his outbursts and his clever and witty press conferences. Sir Alex Ferguson is not as young as Klopp but his passionate drive and dedication to football, and his club Manchester United, has put a few other, much younger managers to shame. It’s foolish to compare Sir Alex and Klopp, but can the latter take over the mantle at Manchester United when the legendary gaffer retires? Has he got the skills, the personality and the same characteristics that made Sir Alex a well known name in the football world?

The answer is not easy, but Jurgen Klopp has certainly looked the part. The tactical genius has already won two Bundesliga titles after taking over Dortmund, who were languishing in 13^th place in the league in 2008. The players he brought in to the club, combined with the young talents of the Die Schwarzgelben, have played a high intensity, high tempo attacking football which has mesmerized Germany and the whole of Europe. The young squad and their fast one touch football have been frequently compared to the philosophy at Arsenal and have definitely catapulted German football to the big league. Comparatively, the Manchester United style of football has been largely functional than beautiful over the last couple of seasons. There was a time when their rapid one touch football, with the likes of Ronaldo, Beckham and Giggs tearing apart defences, awed Premier league fans regardless of which club they supported. But the Manchester United of today dominates games and wins even without playing well. This can be argued due to the fact that Sir Alex has not managed to replace Ronaldo and the ageing Giggs and Scholes yet. But his philosophy of preferring home grown players over foreign players and getting the best out of them is laudable. He has carefully brought in and nurtured players like Cleverley, Rafael and Welbeck from the youth set-up. Klopp, at Dortmund, has equally shown his trust towards his young talents and would definitely do the same at Old Trafford.

Dortmund has young but technically great players which allow them to play such kind of effective plus eye catching football. Manchester United’s squad is not bereft of such players. Technique wise, Van Persie and Kagawa are one of the best in the league and with the addition of a few more such players ( with Klopp at the helm) could bring back the class of 2008 CL winning team. If Lewandowski makes his move towards Old Trafford, we could get to see the deadly combination of him and Kagawa which was one of the highlights of Klopp’s stay at Dortmund. Regardless of the Glazers’ financial backing, Klopp can secure talented players on the cheap (Lewandowski and Reus for example) and also bring in players from the youth set-up instead of big budget signings. He is loved and respected by the players and the staff at Dortmund and would instantly get on very well with players, staff and fans at United.

The ageing Sir Alex Ferguson still has the desire to go on for many more years at Manchester United. 26 years as the manager of a club is an astonishing achievement but there will be a time when he has to relieve himself of his duties at Old Trafford. That time is coming soon and there have rumours speculating that the heir to the throne has already been shortlisted by the gaffer. Whether this is true or not, there is one man who would perfectly fit the requirements of the new manager at United. As far as our memories would go, there hasn’t been a German manager at the club, let alone a German player who has played here (with the exception of Ron Robert Zeigler). The English Premier League would be privileged to have a manager like Jurgen Klopp and this could signal the start of the era for German football managers at foreign clubs.