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Jurgen Klopp provided the world with a testament to resilience and determination yesterday night. After having lost his previous 7 major tournament finals with Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool, the German tactician finally broke the final jinx as the Reds emerged victorious 2-0 against Tottenham Hostspur in the UEFA Champions League final.
Klopp had remarked before the game that losing those finals had only made him determined to strive harder.
"I lost the last 6 finals I was in. They were hardly the best days of my life, but they didn't make me a broken person. For me, life is about trying again and again; if only the winners were allowed to survive then we'd all have to go"
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The German manager had not won a single major final since 2012, losing four finals with Borussia Dortmund and three with Liverpool. The jinx began with the 2012 DFB Pokal final (German Cup) where a Robert Lewandowski hattrick saw Dortmund go down 5-2 to Bayern Munich.
Bayern inflicted the most pain on Klopp, defeating his Dortmund again in the 2013 Champions League final and the 2014 DFB Pokal Final. Wolfsburg turned spoilsport in the 2015 DFB Pokal final, thanks to an inspirational performance from Kevin de Bruyne.
His move to Liverpool followed and so did the jinx in finals.
The 2016 EFL Cup final saw some intense drama as Manchester City emerged victorious on penalties after the game had finished 1-1 after extra time. The German masterminded a majejstic run for the Reds to the 2016 Europa League finals, only to go down 3-1 to Sevilla.
In perhaps his most disappointing final loss, Liverpool surrendered meekly 3-1 to Real Madrid in the 2018 Champions League final, with Klopp massively let down by a shambolic goalkeeping performance from Loris Karius.
As the saying goes, you cannot keep a good man down, and Klopp showed the world that perserverence pays, winning his first final in 9 years with a memorable maiden UEFA Champions League title.
