Jurgen Klopp is Leaving, and Everything is Worse Now

Last week, I sent my friend the following tweet with the caption, “i’m sadly a huge titans fan now”. Little did I know this was not the first Jurgen Klopp quote last week that would send me into a spiral.

If you’re new, or it isn’t clear from my blogs, I’m a massive Liverpool fan. I even have a whole blog purely on Jordan Henderson’s move to Saudi Arabia; I plan to write one later on his quest for social redemption. With that said, during my tenure as a soccer and Liverpool fan, I’ve really ever known one coach. Sure, there was Brendan Rodgers, but he was there for like 2 seasons and a couple days. One of those seasons was out of this world – it taught me how much fun soccer can be. The other seasons taught me the depths of despair and ugliness soccer can bring. I detrimentally remember Steven Gerrard’s last game. So, in my own mind, it’s always been Jurgen.

Have you ever received one of those texts, where it feels like your reality has changed? Like a text from a now ex-girlfriend letting you know she came to a decision after a month or so apart. Or maybe it was the drive you had after graduation, where you realized that a chapter of your life has finally ended and no matter how much safety you felt, it’s time to move on (“time’s arrow marches forward”).

The Jurgen Klopp

The manager/coach carousel is a fact of sports life. Americans have crashed into this head on, with the departures of of Nick Saban and Bill Belichick. At some point these megaliths of sports phenoms decide that it is time to take their much deserved rest. This may be more true in Saban’s case as he boogieboards into the Magaritaville lifestyle, but Belichick takes interviews. There’s some literary quote that’s basically “you’ve worked so hard, and now it’s time to rest,” which feels undeniably appropriate for these men who dedicate their existence to the furtherance of sports’ perfection.

As I’ve said before, my role as a writer has never really been analysis. I posted a reaction to the Bills and Chiefs last week, but even then it was all a conduit to end with a Sean McDermott 9/11 joke. There has already been analysis on Jurgen Klopp and his accomplishments. For every trophy he won, Klopp’s biggest accomplishment is turning Liverpool fans from, in his words, doubters to believers. I actually chose Liverpool because it reminded me so much of my experience with Houston sports; always suffering from mediocrity. Now, of course, no longer am I suffering from mediocrity; I am suffering from success.

I’m not here to analyze Klopp as a manager. Actually, I’m really not here to do much other than ramble on the internet to strangers and my biggest fan (hi mom :)). The impact of Klopp on me as a person is somewhat hard to understate, but I didn’t realize it until I had time to reflect on Klopp’s brief tenure in my life. He actually has the only quote I have written down:

But it’s not just the one off quotes, like when he told an interpreter they had an erotic voice, but the overall joyful demeanor of the Klopp I came to love. What other coach is legitimately known for giving hugs to his players as a thank you. Or the time he tore his hamstring celebrating (I have unintentionally injured myself celebrating Liverpool goals too, alone in my apartment).

There’s so much to write about the one man that this does not feel adequate in any way. He is the pinnacle of what a manager should be. But to put it simply, he backed up what he promised. He was like that dad in a show that made everyone swoon.

Free Churro

The title of this blog is based off one of the best episodes from Bojack Horseman – Free Churro. Now, it’s one of my favorite shows, it may even dabble as my favorite at times. At the same time, I would not recommend the show unless you’re ready to be vehemently depressed. It’s a show about coping with being an adult.

The line is “my mother/husband is dead, and everything is worse now.” It’s supposed to be a line about mixed feelings on the loss of someone that was so incredibly cruel; it’s supposed to memoralize the person in a true fashion.

This is not to say that I have some incredibly complicated relationship with Jurgen Klopp. It’s actually quite the opposite. I loved him dearly for the success, the passion, and the joy he brought. The statement would be more apropos for a discussion on Pep Guardiola’s legacy, who is a fantastic manager but coaches teams with unlimited money. No, I use the quote not to dissect my (non)relationship with Jurgen Klopp, but to analyze my own feelings on the subject.

When I saw the post on Reddit about Klopp leaving, I wasn’t able to process the information initially. It felt vaguely like a monkey almost writing Hamlet; sure, I understood the words, but something was off. It’s a painful realization to see the end of the journey. Like when Frodo left Middle Earth, this is a man sailing to the beyond after completing the greatest journey. Even if there are no more trophies this season, even if the numbers don’t change, Klopp has changed Liverpool.

Come May, I’ll probably write a closing chapter to this. A final psalm to Jurgen Klopp and the impact he has not only had on me as a sports fan, but as a man. There’s been this discourse about crying in relation to New Heights and the Kelce brothers. But none of those dissectors has ever witnessed the immense joy and the human responses to pain exhibited by a German soccer coach, whom I will never meet. The final verse hasn’t been written in the Klopp-Liverpool love song.

I want to write more about how the best exit in sports I have seen in Mariano Rivera, running out one last time as a stadium lauded over every last moment they could enjoy with him. But that is for a a future blog when Jurgen Klopp has exited stage right and into the walls of Anfield.

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