Anfield Watch
·18 May 2024
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·18 May 2024
Steven Gerrard wants Liverpool to go all-out in the wake of Jurgen Klopp’s exit. The legendary Red is in awe of the manager.
Jurgen Klopp oversees his final game as Liverpool manager on Sunday - it's going to be an emotional one. The Reds must move on without the figure who took them to the top of football for the first time in decades.
But Steven Gerrard doesn't want them to completely move on. The effect Klopp has had on the club is enough that he wants the German immortalised at Anfield.
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"I hope to God there is a statue in the making because he deserves it," he told Sky Sports. "You mention Bill Shankly, Joe Fagan, Rafael Benítez, all the ones who have delivered huge trophies for Liverpool.
"It is very difficult to achieve those accolades. He is right up there with the best for sure."
There are only two managers with statues, of course: Shankly and Bob Paisley. The pair are essentially irreplaceable as the top two in Liverpool's history, such was their impact.
But Klopp has come as close as anyone since. He took a Liverpool side that had struggled for consistency for 30 years - yes, there had been some good teams but none that lasted.
This one has lasted and Liverpool are one of the biggest and most successful clubs of the last decade. Klopp is the biggest reason for that.
Whether that commands a statue or not is up for debate. Shankly took a second-division side and turned them into the best in the country, laying the foundations that would see Liverpool take over football.
Paisley is the most successful manager to ever work in England: three European cups and six league titles over eight seasons.
Those are the standards at Liverpool for a statue, and neither received theirs while still living. Perhaps Klopp is an exception for the latter, though.
He's brought Liverpool together like remarkably few have - and a statue that lasts forever may be a fitting way to recognise that.
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