There are certain days in football you remember exactly where you were.
For Liverpool supporters, October 8, 2015, is one of them.
Nine years ago today, Jürgen Klopp was officially appointed Liverpool manager. Looking back, it is difficult to believe how much changed after that announcement.
Liverpool were not the finished article. We were not challenging for everything, nor were we the European powerhouse we would eventually become.
But something was about to happen.
The doubters were about to become believers.
“We have to change from doubters to believers”
I’ll never forget that line.
Klopp had not even managed a game, yet he was already talking about belief. It was not some carefully prepared managerial statement. This was Klopp.
He arrived from Borussia Dortmund with a huge reputation, a massive personality and a style of football Liverpool supporters desperately wanted to see.
The club confirmed his appointment on October 8, 2015, before his famous unveiling at Anfield the following day. Liverpool’s own account of his arrival captured the excitement around Merseyside, with supporters even tracking his flight from Germany.
And then Klopp said it:
“We have to change from doubters to believers.”
He was not wrong.
The transformation didn’t happen overnight
That is worth remembering.
Klopp did not walk through the door and immediately win the Premier League. Liverpool had to endure some painful moments first.
There was the Europa League final defeat to Sevilla. There was the Champions League final loss to Real Madrid. There were title races in which Manchester City somehow kept finding another gear.
There were injuries, difficult periods and matches when Liverpool looked nowhere near the finished article.
But gradually, the team changed.
The intensity increased. So did the standards. Anfield changed, and the relationship between the players and supporters became something special.
Suddenly, Liverpool were not just competing anymore.
We were bloody good.
Then came Madrid
The 2018/19 season still feels slightly surreal.
Liverpool had just finished a Premier League campaign with 97 points and somehow had not won the title. It was heartbreaking.
But Klopp’s team had another chance: the Champions League final against Tottenham.
This time, Liverpool got it right.
Mohamed Salah scored early. Divock Origi finished it late. Liverpool were champions of Europe.
Jürgen Klopp had delivered the Champions League.
Liverpool’s sixth European Cup remains the most recent in the club’s history.
But Klopp was not finished.
Not even close.
Then he gave us the title we had waited 30 years for
This is the moment that defines his Liverpool reign for me.
The Premier League.
Thirty years.
Think about that: thirty years of waiting, watching other teams celebrate and wondering when Liverpool would finally lift that trophy again.
And Klopp did it.
The 2019/20 Liverpool team were magnificent, finishing with 99 points and finally bringing the league title back to Anfield.
I’ll never forget the feeling, or how much Klopp meant to supporters during that period.
He did not just give Liverpool a trophy. He restored belief that the club could compete at the very highest level.
And there was still more to come
The Champions League.
The Premier League.
The UEFA Super Cup.
The Club World Cup.
The FA Cup.
The League Cup.
The Community Shield.
Seven major honours.
Liverpool’s official anniversary feature described Klopp’s near-nine-year reign as a “thrilling and transformative journey” that delivered seven major honours and countless memories.
But what made Klopp’s time at Liverpool so special was not simply the trophies.
It was the moments.
Alisson running forward for that corner against West Brom. Origi against Everton. The comeback against Barcelona. The night Liverpool beat Tottenham in Madrid. The parade. The emotion of winning the league. The 7-0 against Manchester United. The late goals, the celebrations and the hugs.
The bloody chaos of it all.
Klopp gave Liverpool their identity back
That is what I will remember most.
Liverpool became a team supporters could identify with again. We played with aggression, emotion and belief.
Klopp understood what Liverpool meant to people. He understood Anfield and the supporters. He knew football was not just about tactics and statistics; it was about how you make people feel.
He made Liverpool supporters feel something that had been missing for too long.
Hope.
Nine years on, I still miss him
That is probably the strangest thing.
Even after everything that happened, and after Klopp eventually decided it was time to leave, I still find myself watching Liverpool and thinking:
I miss that mad German.
I miss the celebrations, the interviews, the jokes and the emotion. I miss watching Liverpool under a manager who seemed to understand exactly what the club meant to its supporters.
Andoni Iraola now has the responsibility of creating his own Liverpool story.
That is football. Managers come and go. Players come and go. But some people leave a mark that lasts forever.
Jürgen Klopp is one of those people.
October 8, 2015 changed everything
When Liverpool announced Klopp nine years ago, nobody could have known exactly what was coming.
We did not know about Madrid, the Premier League title, Barcelona, Istanbul-style European nights or seven major trophies. We certainly did not know how many incredible memories were waiting for us.
All we knew was that Liverpool had appointed Jürgen Klopp.
Then he told us what he wanted:
Doubters into believers.
Looking back now, I would say he bloody well did it.
For everything he gave Liverpool Football Club, I’ll always be grateful.
Happy anniversary, Jürgen.
You’ll Never Walk Alone.
Jamie (The Kopite View)
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