“The best”- Jurgen Klopp opens up on where his side stands among Liverpool’s greats

Jurgen Klopp refuses to compare himself to Liverpool legends Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley

Liverpool star Jurgen Klopp has swiftly established himself a place in the club’s annals of history following seven excellent years at the helm.

The German replaced Brendan Rodges in 2015 and has since steered the Reds from seeming mediocrity to one of the best teams in world football. To call the Merseysiders a juggernaut would be appropriate.

Klopp led his side to the FA Cup on Saturday, his sixth different trophy since arriving at Anfield. He is the only manager apart from Sir Alex Ferguson to achieve this feat in English football.

According to The Mirror, Klopp believes it is difficult to compare his current Liverpool side to those managed by Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley. Both managers have their own place in footballing folklore and transformed the face of our club from a domestic giant to a European powerhouse.

Given the difference in resources and techniques available at the time, Klopp believes it is futile to compare how two teams have performed across different time spans. Football has changed much since the 1970s and 1980s and the German’s assessment makes sense.

“I can’t say where this team ranks and I know a few players of these teams but I cannot say how they played but I’m pretty sure they were the best at the time.”

The incorporation

of science and statistics into football has certainly added another dimension to how teams prepare and play. Fitness levels and the speed at which the game is played today are unlike any in the past.

“But meanwhile, we know so much more about training, so much more about sports science and all these kind of things and that’s why these boys are so much fitter than the previous teams. It’s nothing to do with football talent or whatever.”

The German boss can lead Liverpool to a second UEFA Champions League trophy under his leadership when they take on Real Madrid in Paris later this month. It is a repeat of the European Cup final that took place in 1981 against the same opposition, in the same city, with LFC managed by none other than Paisley himself.

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Klopp’s reply is rather humble and a testament to the kind of person he is. For all of Shankly and Paisley’s glories, the former never won the European Cup while the latter somehow kept missing out on the FA Cup.

Klopp meanwhile has won it all and is deserving of his own place in the Reds’ pantheon of greats. History certainly will be more generous to the German manager, especially with many more finals to come.