Jürgen Klopp’s success story with Liverpool FC was not foreseeable when he took office in October 2015. We show the starting eleven from his first game.
TOR- SIMON MIGNOLET
The Belgian has been the Reds’ No. 1 since 2013, but lost his regular spot to Loris Karius in the 2017/18 season. In 2019 he moved back to Belgium and has been in the box at Club Brugge ever since.
DEFENSE – NATHANIEL CLYNE
The right-back arrived from Sunderland in 2015 and injuries kept throwing him back. A loan to Bournemouth in 2018/19 was followed by the final Liverpool farewell to Crystal Palace in 2020.
DEFENSE – MARTIN SKRTEL
Came from St. Petersburg in 2008 and has been a crowd favorite for a long time. But under Klopp, the robust Slovakian lost his standing. In 2016, new competitors came with Joel Matip and Ragnar Klavan. Skrtel went to Fener. Currently at Hajskala Raztocno.
DEFENSE – MAMADOU SAKHO
As a 23-year-old, Sakho joined the Reds from Paris Saint-Germain in 2013 for €19m. He played a total of 80 games for Liverpool, but his career took a decisive turn there. In 2016, Sakho was suspended due to a positive doping test. However, it later turned out that the substance found was not on the banned list. WADA compensated Sakho, who has played for Montpellier since 2021.
DEFENSE – ALBERTO MORENO
Came from Sevilla in 2014 for 18 million euros and was set at left-back until a certain Andy Robertson took off under Klopp. In 2019, Moreno left the Reds on a free transfer and joined Villarreal.
MIDFIELD – JAMES MILNER
Moved to Liverpool from Man City in 2015. Back then, when Klopp started, captain of the Reds. Still plays for Liverpool today, even if his playing times are a bit shorter.
MIDFELD – EMRE CAN
The current Dortmund player played 167 games for the Reds, but he was not really happy in Liverpool. That didn’t change after his free transfer to Juve in 2018. With BVB since 2020.
MIDFELD – LUCAS LEIVA
Wore the Reds jersey for a total of ten years and enjoyed the support of the fans. After 346 games (seven goals), the defensive midfielder joined Lazio in 2017 and now plays for Gremio Porto Alegre in Brazil.
ATTACK – ADAM LALLANA
Came from Southampton in 2014 and was seeded under both Brendan Rodgers and Klopp. In 2016/17 he played his best season with the Reds with eight goals and seven assists before injuries slowed him down. Lallana had to watch idly as the competition in the storm grew. Since 2020, Lallana, once ennobled by Klopp as a “legend” of Liverpool FC, has been pulling the strings at Brighton & Hove Albion on the offensive.
ATTACK – PHILIPPE COUTINHO
The Brazilian experienced the best time of his career in Liverpool, especially under Klopp. FC Barcelona paid a whopping 135 million euros for the experienced technician in 2018, but he owed a lot there.
After a mixed loan to FC Bayern, with whom he won the Champions League in 2020 and shone in the semifinals against Barca, he has been playing at Aston Villa for a year.
ATTACK – DIVOCK ORIGI
Serving the Reds since 2015 to this day. Was a big part of the 2019 Champions League win but never got beyond the role of backup in attack. His contract ended in 2022 and he went to Milan on a free transfer.
SUBSTITUTE – JOE ALLEN
The Welshman came on as a substitute in the final stages of Klopp’s debut, and he was only a backup player otherwise. Allen moved on to Stoke City in 2016, where he was set as captain. He is now under contract with Swansea City.
SUBSTITUTE – JORDON IBE
The winger was trained at Liverpool and cited Klopp’s slap in the face as motivation. In 2016 he moved to Bournemouth, via Derby County he ended up at Adanaspor in early 2022 after six months without a club. He only stayed there for half a year and is now without a club again.
