WALKING TOGETHER

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I grew up in Southern Africa supporting Liverpool because Zimbabwean Bruce Grobbelaar was the flamboyant goalkeeper during the ’80’s heydays of Liverpool football.

Recently I watched “Kenny” which documents the footballing career of Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish, including the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. This film is incredibly moving and inspiring at the same time. It sheds light on the heart of the Liverpool supporters community, while also highlighting some of the heroes of LFC in the last 50 years.

Steven Gerrard is arguably the most famous Liverpool player of recent times, and his involvement in the 2005 Champions League victory, “The Miracle of Istanbul”, will live long in the memory. Gerrard has given many interviews about what Liverpool means to him. In his movie “Make Us Dream”, he talks about captaincy, responsibility, loyalty, and legacy.

Most recently Liverpool have had another resurgence, this time built around their inspiring coach, Jurgen Klopp.

Klopp is a special kind of coach. From my observations, he walks the talk on three critical themes:

  1. He is the man “in the arena” per Roosevelt’s quote. Klopp is on the field whenever he gets a chance. You sense when watching Liverpool play that whatever the weather, and for better or for worse, Klopp is “all in”. He is part of the team, not separate from the team.
  2. He tells the truth, but the “glass is always half full“. Klopp has earned respect from fans, competitors, players, and the media alike, because he maintains a fair balance between honesty and optimism. For example, when it was mathematically impossible for Liverpool to win the Premier League, Klopp focused all of his positive energy on winning the Champions League which he always believed Liverpool could do in 2019.
  3. He maintains his dignity and humility at all times. Klopp embodies the saying “humble in victory and gracious in defeat”. He is therefore a benchmark coach who strikes a near-perfect balance between fierce determination, and friendly demeanour. Hunger and humour. Excellence and empathy.

Klopp creates the best conditions possible for those around him to unlock their potential.

Clearly the 2019 Liverpool team has exceptional players, but games like the Champions League Anfield semi-final when Liverpool beat Barcelona 4-0 to go through and win the final, showed that there is an X-factor as well. Most 2019 LFC fans will tell you that the X-factor can now always be seen cheering, encouraging, energising, and believing, from the Dugout.