Jurgen Klopp says his Liverpool revolution feels just like his Bundesliga winning Borussia Dortmund side
Liverpool boss happy with the positive atmosphere at club and in dressing room as they chase elusive Premier League title
JURGEN KLOPP thinks his Anfield revolution is roaring along similar lines to when he turned Borussia Dortmund into the Bundesliga big shots.
Nearly a decade ago Klopp walked into Dortmund which had finished 13th – and after winning the Cup as he took them up the table, he made them champions in his third season.
He followed suit the next campaign as well, and also took them to the brink of Champions League glory, as he totally transformed the club.
When he arrived at Liverpool the mission was the same – bring the glory days back to a giant not so much sleeping as in danger of slipping into a coma.
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Yet he has stirred them from their slumbers to such extent they now lie second to Chelsea, have played the most attractive football in the Prem and have every chance of ending a title drought lasting over a quarter of a century.
The way his players have bought into his methods, and how there is a real connection running throughout the entire club is on a parallel with his Dortmund miracle.
Klopp admitted: “I am not sure I should compare but it is another nice situation if you want. It is cool. It is not the same, but it is similar to what we had at Dortmund.
“I am still in contact with a lot of the Dortmund players and hopefully I will be contact after my time at Liverpool with these players because they are nice lads.
“That is first of all. But they are not here because they are nice lads, they are outstanding footballers I love working with them and really appreciate them.
“We have an atmosphere at Melwood which is as good as it should be because of all the people working here.
“We had our Christmas party last week and it was really nice having all the people around, it is was big difference because after one year you know all of them.
“After three months last year I still had no idea of the names of certain staff. We have a completely different situation to last year.”
This afternoon Klopp aims to keep the Reds’ title charge rolling along against Stoke – the last team to win at Anfield, in the League Cup, last January.
He will give Joel Matip as long as possible to recover from his troublesome ankle before naming his line-up, yet has no fears if Ragnar Kalvan again has to deputise.
The Estonian centre back was expected to be little more than occasional back-up when he arrived as a £4 million virtual unknown in the summer.
Yet after a shaky start, Klavan has been outstanding in the last two games, with clean sheets in winning at Middlesbrough and Everton.
Klopp admitted: “A few weeks ago Ragnar still needed to adapt a little bit to all the circumstances, but now he is in a really good moment and we should use it."