The Incredible Numbers Behind Jurgen Klopp’s Legendary Liverpool Career | OneFootball

Jurgen Klopp – The ‘normal one’

For most of us, looking back at Jurgen Klopp’s nine years at Liverpool means looking back at the best nine years of our lives. He came, he conquered and he brought the kind of success to Liverpool that most of us had never experienced in our lifetimes.

We all believed him when he announced himself as the ‘normal one.’ But the reality is that as the years have passed we have all come to realise he is far from normal. In this piece Anfield Index takes a look at the extraordinary numbers that have defined Klopp’s era.

Klopp’s Liverpool Career in Numbers

Out of the 489 matches Liverpool have played under Klopp, there have been 304 wins, 100 draws and 85 defeats. In total Klopp has won over 62% of his Liverpool games as manager. That’s the best success rate of any manager in the club’s history.

Kenny Dalglish comes in second place with 60.9% followed by John McKenna and William Edward Barclay with 60.6%. Bob Paisley (57.5% and Rafael Benitez (55.44%) round of the top five. Meanwhile, in that time Klopp’s Liverpool have scored 1088 goals, which is only topped by Bill Shankly’s Liverpool in the history of the club (1307).

Photo: IMAGO

Roughly, Liverpool have averaged around 2.25 goals per game under Klopp. The Reds have averaged more goals only under Kenny Dalglish per game (2.38).

Only Shankly, Paisley and Watson

Jurgen Klopp has managed 489 matches for Liverpool in total. That’s more than Rafael Benitez (350), Gerard Houlier (307) and Sir Kenny Dalglish (296).

In the history of the club only three managers have been in charge of more games. The first is Bob Paisley, who narrowly edges out Klopp with 529 games. The second is Tom Watson with 742. Bill Shankly comes out on top, he managed 783 Liverpool games in a feat that will likely never be topped.

But when it comes to average points per game, Klopp has bettered both Shankly and Paisley. He’s averaged 2.07 points per game for Liverpool. More than Paisley (1.98) and Shankly (1.81). Only one manager has performed better than him in the history of the club. Kenny Dalglish marginally edges out Klopp by a miniscule 0.01 with an average of 2.08 points per game for Liverpool in his managerial career.

Setting records

Under Klopp’s leadership, Liverpool set several Premier League records. Some of the most notable ones are as follows:

Most PL wins in a season: 32 – Liverpool (2019/20), matching Man City of 2017/18 and 2018/19. Most consecutive PL wins: 18 – Liverpool (27 Oct 2019-24 Feb 2020), matching Man City (26 Aug-27 Dec 2017). Most PL home wins in a season: 18 – Liverpool (2019/20), matching Chelsea (2005/06), Manchester United (2010/11) and Man City (2011/12 & 2018/19). Most consecutive PL home wins: 24 – 9 Feb 2019-11 Jul 2020. Biggest PL home win: 9-0 v AFC Bournemouth (27 Aug 2022), matching Man Utd 9-0 Ipswich Town (4 Mar 1995) and Man Utd 9-0 Southampton (2 Feb 2021).

The one that will hurt the most: Most Premier League points in a season without winning the title: 97 (2018/19).

Klopp’s Lasting Legacy

No Liverpool manager has given more debuts out to teenagers than Klopp (42). No Liverpool manager has given more debuts to teenagers in the league than Klopp (19).

Remarkably, out of Liverpool’s ten youngest players of all time – eight made their debuts under Jurgen Klopp with Harvey Elliott and Trey Nyoni being the youngest – both making their debuts at 16 years old.

Photo: IMAGO

In the Premier League, six of the club’s ten youngest ever players also made their debuts under Klopp. The youngest being Harvey Elliott at 16 years old. Meanwhile, Ben Woodburn, Ben Doak, Kaide Gordon, Bobby Clark and Stefan Bajcetic all debuted under Klopp in the league at 17 years old.

Impressively, six of the club’s ten youngest ever goal-scorers in all competitions also made that landmark under Klopp. The club’s two youngest goal-scorers of all time (Ben Woodburn and Kaide Gordon) both scored their first goals for Klopp.

Klopp’s legacy when it comes to promoting young talent into the first team at Liverpool has been unparalleled in the history of the club.

This season has demonstrated that as well. In his final season at Liverpool, Klopp has given debuts to:

Looking Beyond the Numbers

The numbers above prove that Klopp is one of a kind. But there is more to the man than mere numbers alone. Everyone has their own stories of Klopp. Beyond all the numbers and facts, Klopp was a genuine man. Someone who valued the human side of the game more than anything else, and who was always there for supporters and the community.

I will always remember his laugh outside Sparta Prague’s stadium earlier this season. I never thought it was possible to hear someone’s laughter echo in open air. But his did as he joked around while greeting the local staff with the enthusiasm as if he were greeting old friends. That’s the kind of human being he is. And that’s the kind of human being no number on the planet can quantify.

The truth is he was wrong. He is anything but normal. He’s as special as one can be.