How Klopp's influence helped Slot to title success

When Jurgen Klopp announced he would be leaving Liverpool in January 2024 it came as a shock to the football world.

Emotions were high after his final game in charge at Anfield last May and, along with the tears that were shed, there was concern and uncertainty among Reds fans about what the following season would hold under new manager Arne Slot.

They needn't have worried. Slot has led Liverpool to a 20th league title.

But, while the Dutchman has been the mastermind behind Liverpool's campaign this season, his success - as he highlighted following his team's confirmation as champions on Sunday - is also due to the squad and culture created by Klopp.

The Reds only added one player to their ranks for this campaign in Federico Chiesa and, despite him only playing a bit-part role, they have equalled the title tally of arch-rivals Manchester United.

BBC Sport - through a documentary on BBC iPlayer about Liverpool's journey to winning the Champions League in 2018-2019 - charts how Klopp ended up with the Reds and how he created the foundations for Slot to build on.

When Liverpool were looking for a manager to replace Brendan Rodgers, the "two main candidates" - according to former Reds director of research Ian Graham - were Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti, who were both out of work at the time.

Ancelotti was a "great coach" but Liverpool didn't have the "sort of squad" with "proven superstars" that he was used to managing.

Klopp, on the other hand, had guided a youthful Borussia Dortmund side to the Bundesliga title in 2011 and 2012 and was seen as a better fit.

"Our strategy was to recruit young players, have them reach peak age together to give us this success one or two years down the line," said Graham.

Klopp was appointed as Reds boss with the club 10th in the Premier League in October 2015, and he set about instilling a philosophy and principles at the Anfield club which Slot has benefitted from.

"We always wanted to create stories which we can tell our grandkids," said Peter Krawietz, who had been with Klopp at Mainz and Dortmund before following him to Liverpool and becoming his assistant.

"There's only one way. Do it as a team. Do it with your mates.

"Use that to make sure we are feeling like friends, like brothers, like a family. Know about the support you need from all the teams around, from the analysts, from the doctor, from the physiotherapists, from the nutritionists.

"We can do it only together. As long as you are alone, or you leave others alone, then you don't have a chance.

"Keep believing, follow your dream, don't quit. Then one day you will get the bonus. So the idea was always for us to invest everything without expecting a guarantee for success."

Success in the form of silverware had proved elusive.

Liverpool had achieved an impressive 97 points in 2018-2019 and, even though that would have won them the league title in most other seasons, they were pipped to the top-flight crown by a point by Manchester City.

The Reds had also been beaten in the League Cup final and Europa League final in 2016, as well as the 2018 Champions League final.

However, the work Klopp had done with his players was eventually rewarded when he won the first trophy of his Liverpool reign with a 2-0 victory against Tottenham in the 2019 Champions League final.

The club's journey to that trophy embodied the tactics, emotion and thrilling football that was Klopp's hallmark, and one which Slot has refined rather than revolutionised.

"The idea is to press the opponent, don't allow them to get into the game," said Krawietz. "They do on the pitch what we allow them to do, being dominant already without having the ball, and then - the moment we win the ball - the first idea is, win it high on the pitch and attack the goal.

"We had to adapt over time. It was constantly learning without changing our basic ideas until the end."

He added: "We, as the managing staff, were convinced about our way.

"We had to convince the players as well and then, the next step is to convince the people around, turning doubters into believers."

Krawietz admitted Klopp's gameplan could be "wild" but "was part of the plan", and there was no better evidence of it in action than their 2019 Champions League semi-final against Lionel Messi's Barcelona.

The Reds looked down and out after losing the first leg 3-0 at the Nou Camp, before what turned out to be one of the most memorable comebacks in Champions League history.

"Right after the first game, there was a very decisive moment in the dressing room because Jurgen stood up and said, 'hey, gentlemen, this game is not over yet. We have half-time. Yes, we are 3-0 down, but we are Liverpool and we play next week in our stadium'," said Krawietz.

"For us, football is always playing football as well with your heart.

"All the strategy, all the tactics, all the instructions you give to them but, giving the team the possibility to feel the game and the energy of a stadium, the support of each other and bringing the crowd into the game as well in home games, which is possible at Anfield, we knew it and this is what we tried to develop."

Liverpool's in-house data department had given them a 3.5% chance of overcoming Barcelona before the second leg but, as the injured Mohamed Salah's T-shirt read before the match, Klopp's Liverpool 'never give up'.

Divock Origi pulled one goal back early on for Liverpool and two from Georginio Wijnaldum, who was "angry like crazy" at not having started, levelled the tie at 3-3 before 'that' corner.

With Barcelona still getting organised for a Liverpool corner, Trent Alexander-Arnold pretended to walk away from the ball before quickly turning and sending in a low ball which Origi swept in to cause scenes of bedlam as Liverpool won 4-0.

"I didn't know at the time but our video analysts pay a lot of attention to set-pieces," said Graham.

"They noticed that this was a recurring theme - when Barcelona concede a corner they are more concerned with arguing amongst themselves than they are defending the corner - and so Divock and Trent had been briefed.

"Credit to the video analysts and Trent and Divock for spotting the opportunity and converting it as well."

Liverpool went on to beat Spurs and win Europe's top competition for a sixth time.

"It's not hard to play for Jurgen. He's a motivator. He gets you to run through a brick wall for him effectively. The good thing is that he'll do the exact same for you," said Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson.

"I just think he was probably quite a loving person. He was always just going about the training ground giving hugs.

"He wanted everyone to feel a part of it at that time. Going into the training ground was a good place to go. You could see everyone was highly motivated."

Klopp might have gone but his players have proved this season that the atmosphere he created at Liverpool remains, along with the 'all-for-one-one-for-all' attitude he embedded in his players.

Liverpool keeper Alisson added: "Jurgen was always clinical in the words he used before matches. He has this natural talent to set everybody on fire for the game."