Anything but 'normal' Klopp has real connection with Liverpool fans

Juergen Klopp is about as far from Liverpool's traditional "boot room" production line of managers as it is possible to imagine but the German built a seemingly unlikely bond with Anfield just as some of the greats who went before him.

Bill Shankly will always be the man who turned the club into a world power and Bob Paisley will probably never be surpassed in terms of success both domestically and in Europe.

Kenny Dalglish was worshipped as a player and manager and is similarly adored for his conduct around and since the Hillsborough tragedy.

Those men all flourished when Liverpool were invariably the strongest team in England, when Manchester United couldn't buy a title and the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City were often battling to get out of the lower divisions on a shoestring.

When Klopp arrived from Borussia Dortmund in 2015, however, they were in the doldrums, at least domestically, and had not won the league since 1990 - an extraordinary drought for a club that had topped the table 11 times since 1973.

The suffering was amplified by the fact it was Manchester United who had indisputably replaced them as the big beasts of English football, and though Liverpool were still a formidable cup team, highlighted by the Miracle of Istanbul Champions League victory over AC Milan, the league struggles hurt.

When Klopp replaced Brendan Rodgers in October, 2015 he immediately endeared himself to the Liverpool public by describing himself as "the normal one" - in reference to Jose Mourinho's "I am a special one" proclamation when he joined Chelsea, but adding "it is not a normal club, it is a special club".

MADE IN HEAVEN

That was music to the ears of supporters who always like to consider their city and outlook a little