‘Klopp has turned the image of the German in England upside down’

Here is the first part of the Liverpool report: “Klopp has only lied to us once – when he said he was normal”

The Normal One, that’s what it says on the back of the Kloppocar. As I walk to a meeting with German-English Liverpool fan Sheru Gulati, the colorful Mini Cooper suddenly appears right in front of the pub “Peter Kavanagh’s Pub” in the east of the city. “How lucky can I be?” I think to myself after yesterday.

The car belongs to Arne and Mandy, but there is actually a whole team behind the Kloppocar. But when Arne is asked in the bar by interested fans who owns the car, he simply answers: “Jürgen Klopp”.

Because: First registration of the vehicle? Jurgen Klopp! The trainer drove the Mini himself during his stay in Mainz. At the time it was a simple Mini. When the car was offered for sale on eBay five years ago, Arne couldn’t resist. An artist made the work of art according to Arne’s perfectionist vision. “He hated me sometimes,” he laughs.

“You’re crazy,” says Klopp

But a simple fan project quickly turned into a charity program. People who saw the car wanted to donate money. And everyone involved felt that anyone who wants to donate money should be able to do so for a good cause. Since then, money has been raised for children and youth projects. Celebrities are helping, for example a signed violin by Max Raabe or a signed Dresden painting by Roland Kaiser is being auctioned. In total, around 850,000 euros have already been raised.

“You are crazy,” said Klopp when he first saw the car at a training camp in Saalfelden, Austria. “He was completely speechless and a bit embarrassed and uncomfortable,” says Arne.

Celebrities like Wladimir Klitschko, Helen Fischer or Rudi Völler signed the car, as did mayors and politicians such as Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Former companions, players and childhood friends. Klopp’s first youth coach is said to have cried with joy when he signed. 350 people from 42 countries have immortalized themselves.

Last year, Kloppocar’s team was finally able to hand over the vehicle’s logbook to the trainer. Everyone sent a greeting message to Klopp. Mandy shows me a photo of the handover, in which Klopp is visibly moved and flips through the pages with a wide but embarrassed grin.

Arne has met many celebrities and well-known personalities in his life. Barack Obama, Mikhail Gorbachev, the Dalai Lama and all the stars on the road trips. Klopp stands out from all these people. Being so real and authentic is something he has never experienced with anyone else.

Between two worlds

And at Liverpool they are also ‘real’, which is why Klopp fits here ‘like a glove’, says Sheru. He was born in Liverpool, but his family moved to Wattenheim, a small town between Kaiserslautern and Mannheim, when he was two years old. He grew up there and played football every day on a football field opposite where Mario Basler once learned to play football.

His father took him straight to the LFC. He himself came to Liverpool in the 1970s, at that time the city was the benchmark of all things. The ‘Reds’, the Beatles. This time had a huge impact on his father, Sheru says. He still wears a suit every day, even at home, just as Lennon, McCartney and Co showed him back then.

The English The economic crisis of the 1980s, which mainly affected the Merseyside region, drove his family to Germany. At school, all his classmates already had a favorite club. Lautern, Mannheim, Bavaria. But Sheru really wanted an English club. When he visited Anfield Road with his father, he knew: this is my club.

Klopp, the Scouse

Sheru also remained a ‘scouse’ in Germany, as they say here. “I was always a little louder, more open and funnier than many of my classmates. When I finally got back to Liverpool, everyone was like me.

Scouse is actually a local stew specialty, usually made from mashed potatoes and salted beef. Norwegian In their time, sailors brought the dish to the port city, where the sailors took it over and spread it throughout the world. At one point people from Liverpool were simply called Scousers. Nowadays it is much more than a meal, it is an attitude to life, but also the character trait of a hardworking and warmly open person.

“Klopp was a Scouse before he even came to Liverpool,” says Sheru. He first saw it in an SWR report. At the time, it was all about the crazy character of the young, new Mainz coach. “The way he runs the team is how I would want to do it,” he thought, influenced by the stories and legends of Bill Shankly.

The reincarnation of Bill Shankly

Did Klopp even know him then? “I was able to ask him that a few years ago. He knew him, but didn’t know what made him tick.” It’s often said in Liverpool these days: Klopp is the reincarnation of Shankly, a modern version of him. There is no more praise here.

Like Shankly in the 1960s and 1970s, Klopp redefined the club’s identity in the modern era. “Liverpool was a sleeping giant. He grabbed him, brought him back from the past and led him to the top of the world in the here and now,” says Sheru.

On the one hand because of his sporting successes, but especially because of his intoxicating manner. After defeats and draws, Klopp drove his team from the start to the fans on “The Kop”, the venerable stand on Anfield Road. This is not common on the island; Klopp was the first to introduce it here. The fans appreciate that, but would rather see his infamous first celebration after victories.

“Germany’s best ambassador”

“Everyone loves him, except maybe Everton. But even they do it secretly,” Sheru said of their city rivals. “Liverpool was made for Klopp and Klopp was made for Liverpool,” he continues.

This made the trainer “the best ambassador for Germany” the island has ever had, Graham said. Klopp has turned the image that many English people had of Germany since the war upside down, confirms Sheru, who has experienced many of the prejudices himself. “I was the bad Englishman in Germany and the bad German in England. I know both sides,” the 36-year-old said.

No sense of humor and tense? Already at his first press conference, Klopp abolished many stereotypes with his style. One man changed the face of an entire nation.

Like a family member dies

Sheru becomes melancholic. The fact that Kloppo is now quitting and leaving is hard. “It’s like a family member has died,” he says. Shelly from café ‘Jürgen’ had already said similar words. She added: “Everyone is down. I’m going to buy and hand out tissues for Sunday, it will be a very emotional day.”

John Pearman is actually happy to be out of town for the game. His wife – a Nottingham fan, as he points out – had already booked a holiday a year ago. At the time, he could not imagine how important this last league match against Wolverhampton would be. “I don’t understand how you can go to this game and enjoy it,” he said.

Since Klopp’s announcement in January, they have had four months to prepare for this day. But no one in town is really prepared.

The fifth Beatle

“Jürgen may leave Liverpool, but Liverpool will never leave Jurgen,” says John philosophically. Everyone who left something so wonderful in this city will be remembered forever. “It’s special and we fans are proud to have had it,” says John. All the murals and murals in the city testify to this.

For John it is clear: “There is a big, big divide, not just at Liverpool, but in English football. He excels in everything and that goes beyond football. He is not only a great manager, but also a great person.”

That was all he could say about him, John said after almost two hours at Ye Cracke. Outside the sun is shining, young people are enjoying their cold drinks in the beer garden. The melody of the Beatles classic ‘Here Comes the Sun’ plays softly in the background. Can it be more poetic?

“He’s the fifth Beatle,” Sheru said. Lennon, McCartney, Harrisson, Ringo, Klopp. There you are.