The inside story of how Jurgen Klopp weathered the worst to lead Liverpool to the Champions League final

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… 

Happy New Year! 2018 had only just ticked in, but it entered with the same complexity and concern Liverpool had enjoyed a temporary break from. Barcelona were not so much knocking on the door as they were smashing through it. Coutinho’s desire to leave had not diminished despite his excellence behind a supreme frontline and the club preparing for their first Champions League knockout fixture since 2009. Liverpool did not want a repeat of the upheaval of the summer, but conversely, neither did they want to cede the Brazilian during such a positive juncture. Against the tide, they attempted to persuade him to stay until the end of the season on very lucrative terms - a deal now effective later. However, there was no budging from Barca’s end nor his: Coutinho had been on Merseyside for five years and he was adamant: it was time to say goodbye. As the days ticked on and the eventuality of a sale became more pronounced, Gordon was hugely concerned that the uplifting tone around the club would morph into one of unrest. He was insistent that any abuse should be funnelled towards him and the ownership, shielding Klopp and the squad from toxicity. Through this period, though, there was no calmer person at Melwood than the manager and there was no way he wouldn’t front up. Klopp demanded that everyone relax, that this was just a football transfer, and so they should treat it as such and nothing more. If Liverpool did not want any drama around it, then it was imperative that they did not create a spectacle themselves. It was a transaction, not a tombstone for the Reds’ season. The most significant factor was how the squad would react to the development. The Magician was loved his peers, but additionally, there had been an episode that played on Klopp’s mind. One August afternoon, a desperate Coutinho approached the senior players’ committee and pencilled in a talk in one of the meeting rooms on Melwood’s ground tier. He appealed to them to change the club’s mind, and while he knew the squad wanted him to stay, he also figured fellow professionals would recognise why he felt this was a ‘dream step’ that was critical to take. For all the chicanery that occurred during the summer window, it was the folding of his teammates into the fuss that most annoyed Klopp. So when the deal was done and Coutinho was off, the manager rounded up the full group in the dressing room at the training complex and delivered an incisive address. The message was that they'd lost a great player and a friend, but it was no more than that. He told them to not give anyone on the outside a chance to say that Phil going has affected their season. Klopp mentioned that the scrutiny would increase, but he didn't believe it would hamper Liverpool in a negative way. It was important for the team to believe the same, because if they allowed his exit to be an excuse, Liverpool were weak. He reminded his players they could decide whether people said their collective genius had walked out the door with Coutinho.

October 8, 2015

At Hope Street Hotel in Liverpool’s city centre, those who would now work closely with the club’s new manager were offered insight into the character behind the established caricature. After Klopp signed a three-year deal worth an estimated £7m per season in the Sixth Boardroom, where Rafa Benitez had also ratified a contract with the club in 2004, he gathered the football staff for dinner. Some expected a rousing speech from the German, others assumed it would be the introduction to Jurgen’s Law. Instead, Klopp spoke very little, inviting everyone to tell him about themselves, their roles and how things worked at Liverpool - from training schedules to the matchday routine. He wanted to absorb as much information as possible. When it was time to talk through the media plan for his unveiling, Klopp was asked about his preferences when dealing with press. “No, no,” he responded, underlining that this was the communication team's field and they were the experts. They had to tell him how it should be. They had to teach him. One of the Stuttgart native’s gifts is trusting and turning to the people he works with, previously stating “I’m not a one-man show. I was never that in my life, and I never want to be that. The best lesson you can get in a day - to speak to smart people about things they know about much more about than you do.” It is why when recruitment continuously pushed Salah to the forefront of the agenda for Liverpool’s incomings, Klopp co-signed their expertise. He is across everything, but respects staff who take responsibility for their spheres of influence and are bold enough to settle on important decisions without informing him of each small detail. Klopp surrounds himself with strong personalities, and as such, perhaps that partly explains why his long-time assistant and friend, Zeljko Buvac, is expected to leave the club at the end of the season. The Bosnian-Serb has been missing from the first-team fold since the end of April due to ‘personal reasons,’ and while no clarity has been offered on the situation, there is thought to be an element of discontent for Buvac over his standing in football. That his absence has not affected Liverpool behind the scenes is a nod to the strength of the individuals in the backroom team. It is a strand that runs through the playing personnel as well, with proof in the non-upheaval following Coutinho’s winter departure. Just as the footballers have happily assumed more responsibility, so too have the coaching and support staff. “Incredibly healthy” has been a label used to describe the overall set-up at Melwood and when you consider the seamless adjustment of Van Dijk and Salah, it seems an accurate assessment. Meanwhile, players that took a while to find their stride, like Robertson and Oxlade-Chamberlain, never felt walled off. Klopp empowered Henderson to cultivate the dressing room culture and the captain has promoted a togetherness many within the West Derby facility say they haven’t encountered before. The bond extends beyond the team to the non-football staff, who are part of the fabric of the place too. This is so much so, that even when players leave the fondness lingers. When Liverpool travelled to Rome for the second leg of their Champions League semi-final, Lucas Leiva sent back a surprise for popular canteen pairing Carol Farrell and Caroline Guest - signed Lazio shirts with a personal message for both. Meanwhile, it is in their domain - the dinning room - where Klopp and Edwards often strategise over breakfast or lunch beyond the more in-depth presentations on players. Th while the sporting director keeps a low profile as he prefers to do his job rather than talk about it, allowing him to make moves under the radar at times, Klopp appreciates that he ise duo, who both employ an open-door policy, enjoy an effortless relationship underpinned by mutual respect. And distinguished in his field and very decisive. The Reds boss is never shy to talk up the brilliance of the recruitment group, who are backed by a stellar research team run by Ian Graham. And while Edwards is not the type to seek credit, Liverpool’s forward line - the most devastating in Europe this season - is largely his sketch. Gordon assesses the dovetailing between the pair as a core canon for the club’s success. Klopp appreciates Edwards’ intelligence in assembling a team to effectively implement his aggressive blueprint, while the transfer chief is aware that signing a top player is purposeless without a top manager to extract every inch of their talent. The way the Reds have vaporised teams on the continent this season with their attacking venom has seen a spike in agents calling up to ascertain if there’d be any interest in their exciting clients. Liverpool are now the running train.