When Jurgen Klopp was appointed manager of Borussia Dortmund, he said he wanted to “make memories.”
When he leaves the Bundesliga club at the end of the season it will be with memories in abundance having led Dortmund through one of the most successful periods in its history.
Against the riches of Bayern Munich, he twice led a club that had previously been on the brink of bankruptcy to back-to-back league titles in a seven-year tenure and a Champions League final in which it agonizingly lost 2-1 to Bayern.
In addition, Dortmund were twice league runners-up under his stewardship, twice won the Supercup and proved victorious in the German Cup in 2012.
But his tenure in German football will be remembered as much for his footballing successes as an approach to the game that was both passionate and personable.
While still playing the game — his entire playing days were spent in German football’s second tier with Mainz 05 — he did a diploma in sports science with his thesis on the subject of walking.
His soundbites have made him popular not just with the Dortmund faithful but the wider footballing public.
When asked about Arsene Wenger and Arsenal, he said: “He likes having the ball, playing football, passes… it’s like an orchestra. But it’s a silent song, yeah? I like heavy metal!”
A large-than-life figure on the touchlines — you only need to see his reaction to an official during a European game against Napoli that became an internet sensation to see that — he even had a song penned in his honor in 2011 entitled “I want to be more like Jurgen Klopp.”
But as well as a cultural phenomenon, Klopp has become a footballing phenomenon too.
He landed the role at Dortmund originally after a successful spell in management for Mainz, in which he got it into the Bundesliga albeit briefly, on a duel approach of blooding young players but playing an exciting, attacking brand of football.
Dortmund’s decision was rewarded with a Bundesliga title in 2011 followed by a successful defense the following season — winning a league record 25 matches and ending the campaign with 81 points, the greatest total at that time.
The following two seasons ended with a runners-up spot in the league but a remarkable run to the Champions League final in 2013.
Initially given little hope of proceeding from a “Group of Death” that included Real Madrid, Manchester City and Ajax, Dortmund did not lose a match in its group and ousted Jose Mourinho’s Real in the semifinal.
But Dortmund ultimately lost 2-1 to Bayern in the final courtesy of a winner by Arjen Robben two minutes from time.
His success on a relatively meager budget brought the attention of a whole host of clubs. It is thought Manchester City sounded him out before approaching Manuel Pellegrini and, with the Chilean under fire, Klopp has once more been linked to the post.
But Klopp turned down all overtures signing a new deal in 2013 to tie him to Dortmund until 2018.
Explaining that at the time: “It’s an honor that some big clubs rate my work at Dortmund but I’m not the type who wonders whether the grass is greener elsewhere.”
This season has been a rarity for Klopp in that the team found itself on the back foot — at times at the very foot of the Bundesliga — before Klopp steadied the ship to leave it in the 10th place they currently occupy.
In Europe, Dortmund initially fared better. The team coasted through their Champions League qualifying group only be totally outplayed over two legs by Juventus in the round of 16.
Real is seen as another potential destination for him next season while he has previously been linked to Liverpool and Arsenal. Klopp, though, has yet to declare his hand.
As a manager, he has repeatedly been quick to downplay his role in Dortmund’s strong domestic and European showing, instead being self-deprecating to a tee of his abilities both on and off the field of play.
Of his DIY skills, he once said: “You’d be waiting 30 or 40 years for me to build a table. I have more than two left hands.”
