JURGEN KLOPP transformed Liverpool into Champions League winners after picking the likes of Lucas Leiva and Alberto Moreno in his first starting line-up.
The German took over in October 2015 with the Reds languishing in 10th place in the Premier League table.
Brendan Rodgers had led Liverpool to a sixth-place finish the season before.
But things were going downhill fast for the Reds, with Rodgers axed after failing to cope without the summer exits of Steven Gerrard and Raheem Sterling.
The club spent big to replace the pair, with Roberto Firmino and Christian Benteke arriving for considerable sums.
But neither had hit the ground running, and both were unavailable for Klopp’s first game in charge, a 0-0 draw away at Tottenham.
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He still had the in-form Philippe Coutinho to call on, with the Brazilian perhaps the only player who could get into the team of today.
But Liverpool were also-rans in domestic, and European, football.
The Reds have upgraded considerably in every department, and did it all while spending within their means.
Liverpool’s net spend of £755million under Klopp is less than any of their big six rivals over the same period, as is dwarfed by the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea.
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The club was very astute in its transfer dealings, cashing in on Coutinho for £142m and spending the money on Alisson and Virgil van Dijk, who took the side to the next level in terms of winning trophies.
Qualifying for the Champions League allowed Liverpool to attract the likes of Mo Salah and Fabinho, and gradually Klopp was able to mould a squad in his image.
Klopp implemented his gegenpress system thanks to a front three of Firmino, Salah and Sadio Mane, who will go down in Liverpool folklore.
He also got rid of players like Martin Skrtel, Moreno and Lucas and replaced them with pacy, high-energy stars like Andy Robertson, Georginio Wiljnaldum and Joel Matip.
They all formed part of Liverpool’s Premier League winning side in 2020 along with Trent Alexander-Arnold, with James Milner, Divock Origi and Adam Lallana the only members of Klopp’s first line-up featuring in that squad.
But after missing out on the Prem title despite a points tally of 92 in 2022, Klopp decided to mix things up a bit.
In came Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo as Klopp implemented more of a possession-based style, bolstered by the midfield arrivals of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominic Szoboszlai.
All but Gakpo have arrived for fees worth more than £50m, but Klopp has kept his squad fresh and negated the considerable offload by selling players like Fabinho, Mane and Jordan Henerson.
His new-look side are still fighting on four fronts – they lead the Premier League by four points, are into the Carabao Cup final, and remain in the FA Cup and Europa League.
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Remarkably, Klopp took his first Liverpool squad to the Carabao Cup and Europa League finals, losing both, before building his trophy-winning side.
His possession-based team also tasted domestic success, winning the Carabao Cup and FA Cup double in 2022.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
