- Jurgen Klopp signed a three-year deal as Liverpool manager on Thursday
- On Friday, the German was unveiled by the club in a press conference
- Klopp appeals to a wider audience than Gerard Houllier or Rafa Benitez did
- 48-year-old warms to audiences with his charisma and confidence
- People will hang on his every word. Everyone will be watching Liverpool
Ask
many fans what they best remember about Rafa Benitez and they'll say his
famous 'fact' press conference in which he attacked Manchester United.
That's the same man who won Liverpool the Champions League in 2005 in
the most dramatic circumstances.
Benitez
and Gerard Houllier - Liverpool's only other foreign manager up until
this week - were adored and lauded at Anfield but, outside Liverpool,
they were not particularly loved. They were very successful at Liverpool
but it is rarely recognised in the rest of the country as people didn't
get them in the same way they did Arsene Wenger or Jose Mourinho.
Houllier and Benitez just didn't have much charisma so the man on the street didn't warm to them.
Jurgen Klopp was unveiled as Liverpool's new manager
on Friday morning - succeeding Brendan Rodgers
Klopp signed a three-year deal on Thursday with his
arrival exciting all of those connected at Anfield
The German came across as charismatic and confident
on Friday morning at his Liverpool press conference
Rodgers was sacked as Liverpool manager
shortly after their 1-1 draw at Everton on Sunday
Jurgen
Klopp is different. He came across as charismatic and confident on
Friday morning, cracking jokes, inspiring confidence and unable to wipe
that huge smile off his face.
Klopp
appeals to a wider audience than did Benitez and Houllier and I'm sure
people up and down the country will have taken an instant liking to him.
He is not just an appointment for Liverpool but for the whole Premier
League. When Mourinho was in charge of Chelsea the first time, I
couldn't help watching him, eager to hear every press conference.
Despite the fact we were competing against him in the league and those
famous Champions League semi-finals, I developed a soft spot for him and
I'm sure I wasn't alone.
I
imagine the same will happen with Klopp. People will hang on his every
word. He can make Liverpool box-office again. Everyone will now be
watching Liverpool.
Gerard Houllier (left) and Rafa Benitez were
Liverpool successes but weren't overly loved outside of the club
CARRAGHER THE INTERNET HIT
I
seem to have become an internet sensation this week after Thierry Henry
touched my leg on Sky when we found out Brendan Rodgers had been
sacked. I wasn’t really aware of it at the time, I was just in shock at
the news. But by the time I got home, everyone was sending round videos
of it and having a good laugh. But I have a confession to make: the
first time Thierry and I were on TV together, I grabbed his leg! So
maybe he was just returning the favour...
Thierry Henry (left) touched Jamie Carragher's
leg after Rodgers' sacking was announced on Sky
This
is a real statement from the club. Two of Liverpool's previous three
managers came from Fulham (Roy Hodgson) and Swansea (Brendan Rodgers)
while the other - Kenny Dalglish - hadn't been in management for a long
time.
In
the last five or six years there was a fear that Liverpool could not
attract the absolute top players and managers, but if Barcelona or
Manchester United had been looking for a new boss last summer Klopp
would have been in the reckoning, so Liverpool have done very well to
get him.
Klopp
has two Bundesliga titles and reached the Champions League final with
Borussia Dortmund and that is a real fillip for a club who have won just
one trophy in the past nine years and qualified for the Champions
League once in the past six. Liverpool's players will buy into what
Klopp says because he has been so successful. When I played under
Benitez I didn't agree with everything he said but I believed a lot more
of it because it seemed wrong to question him when he had a proven
track record, winning titles with Valencia - an amazing feat in a league
boasting Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Liverpool's
squad will feel the same about Klopp and the rest of the Premier League
might be casting an envious eye towards Anfield. When was the last time
other top clubs were envious of Liverpool's manager?
At
the start of the season few thought Liverpool had a chance of making
the top four - it seemed hard to see past last season's quartet of
Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal. But Chelsea's
poor start to the season and continuing unrest will have them looking
over their shoulders. There will be a slight fear around the top teams
in the country that Liverpool could snatch fourth.
The gregarious German enjoyed a strong
connection with the fans and players at Borussia Dortmund
Outgoing coach Klopp received a guard of honour
from the Dortmund players and club mascot back in May
The
question now is whether Klopp can replicate the style and passion shown
by his Dortmund team. Everyone loved watching them because they were
fast, aggressive and exciting.
Without
spending much, Klopp took on the might of Bayern Munich at home and
Real Madrid in Europe. Neutrals were always desperate for them to win
and now the hope is that he can do the same for Liverpool.
It
won't be easy and will take time. The squad isn't among the Premier
League's best and Klopp emphasised that
he is not a magician. The
players will be really keen to impress him, though.
The
entire squad would have been glued to their televisions on Friday
morning watching their new manager and thinking: 'I can't wait to play
for this man.'
The former Mainz manager touches the famous
'This Is Anfield' sign on his way down to the pitch on Friday
Bale staking claim to rank with the Best
Who is the greatest footballer Great Britain has ever produced? It is a question that sparks debate and divides opinion.
Sir
Bobby Charlton, the best English player of all time, would have an army
of supporters, so too would George Best, the Belfast Boy who inspired
generations. Kenny Dalglish, Scotland's finest, has to enter the
argument, as does Ryan Giggs, the game's most decorated player. I rate
them each as the best their country has ever produced.
They
all helped take their clubs to levels of glory that had never been
seen, while Charlton went one step further. He recently lost his goals
record but his status as a World Cup winner is safe.
Sir Bobby Charlton was formerly England's record goalscorer and helped them win the 1966 World Cup
Welsh wizard and Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs
is the game's most decorated player
Claims for Giggs' Wales compatriot Gareth Bale
as Great Britain's greatest-ever footballer continue to grow
If
those are the qualities by which we define greatness, Gareth Bale's
claims for being included in this argument continue to get stronger all
the time. He is not at the level of those four giants but the way he is
going, he will end his career firmly alongside them.
History
beckons for Bale and Wales. A point in Bosnia on Saturday will see them
qualify for Euro 2016. Should the worst come to the worst and they lose
for the first time in Group B, there will be no anxiety. They will not
lose their final match at home to Andorra.
It
is some achievement for this squad of players, particularly when you
think of some of the stars of Welsh football - Ian Rush, Neville
Southall, Giggs and Mark Hughes - who never got the chance to play at a
major tournament.
Critics
will say it has never been easier to qualify for the European
Championship but that should not detract from what Wales have done; even
if it had been a 16-team finals, they would still have been going to
France as one of the top two in their group.
The
role Bale has played, however, cannot be overlooked. His six goals and
two assists have been directly responsible for 11 of the 18 points Wales
have collected - no other player in qualifying can get close to that
tally.
Bale has guided Wales onto the brink of qualifying for
their first major tournament finals since 1958
The 26-year-old star (centre) has scored 18 goals in
52 appearances for his country to date
He
is only 26 and, with 52 appearances and 18 goals so far, he is firmly
on course to become both his country's leading scorer and cap holder;
Rush (28 goals) and Southall (92 caps) currently hold those records.
Yet
Bale's claims to greatness run much deeper. He is one of only five
players to be crowned PFA Player of the Year twice (Hughes, Alan
Shearer, Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo are the others) and he was
the reason Tottenham qualified for the Champions League.
His
electric performances against Inter Milan in 2010 still get spoken
about to this day and they were one of the reasons Real Madrid paid a
world-record £86million fee for him two years ago.
He
has come so far since making his way at Southampton. When he broke into
their team, Rafa Benitez looked at signing him for Liverpool. Bale was
playing as a left back then and Rafa didn't think he was any better than
John Arne Riise, so he never pursued it.
The forward (right) won the 2014 Champions League in
his debut season with Spanish giants Real Madrid
Clearly
the Bale that Benitez now manages is a completely different prospect.
Bale has been a success in Madrid, his stunning solo goal against
Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final and the header that gave Real the
lead against Atletico Madrid as they pursued their 10th European Cup
were both moments that only the special ones produce.
To
ensure he is truly on a par with the men I mentioned earlier, Bale's
next challenge is to take a team to a league title or win a Champions
League. I know he's won that competition but Cristiano Ronaldo was the
real driving force in that campaign. For all the sparkle at Tottenham,
there was no silverware.
Now
he's at the best club in the world, you may wonder why he would ever
want to leave. But with Ronaldo looking as if he will stay in Madrid for
another three years, will Bale ever be the main man? Can you imagine
his standing in our game if he came back and had a Eric Cantona-like
effect on United or took City or Chelsea to Champions League success?
Regardless, he'd be the best player in the Premier League without a
doubt.
Is
he good enough to take a team to European domination, just as Dalglish
did? I believe he is. What he has helped Wales achieve is remarkable.
Should he back it up with even greater displays at club level, entry to
the pantheon awaits.
Now in his third season at Real, Bale (right) continues to be
one of their main attacking threats
MAN OF THE WEEK: GERD MULLER
It
was with sadness I learned this week that the man who will for ever be
known as 'Der Bomber' is being treated for Alzheimer's disease.
When
I was growing up I used to read about his astonishing scoring feats for
West Germany and Bayern Munich. The numbers he produced - such as 10
goals at the 1970 World Cup finals or 85 in the calendar year of 1972 -
are figures of which Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo would be proud.
Carragher (left) met Bayern Munich and Germany
legend Gerd Muller two years ago at Sabener Strasse
So when I went to Munich two years ago for Sportsmail,
it was a genuine privilege to be introduced to Muller. He spends a lot
of his time at Sabener Strasse, Munich's training ground, mixing with
fans and watching Pep Guardiola put his squad through their paces.
I
was taken on a tour of the Allianz Arena while I was there and in their
impressive club museum there are shrines for only two players. One is
reserved for Franz Beckenbauer, the other is for Muller, who scored in
the 1974 and 1975 European Cup finals.
'Bayern
would be nothing without Muller,' my guide that day told me. One of
Bayern's great strengths is how they look after their former players and
during this difficult time Muller can be assured he will receive all
the help and support he needs.
Muller celebrates after scoring West Germany's third in their 3-2 Euro 72 final win over the Soviet Union
Tags
SOCCER