Jurgen Klopp, not just a revolutionary manager but the most human of the elite managers

When Jurgen Klopp leaves Liverpool at the end of the season, the league would not only be poorer for an original revolutionary, but also the most human and democratic of managers. There is a blazing aura around his sharply-tuck black cap, an air of intellectual intimidation at times, but when he smiles, the broad, warm smile, he suddenly transforms into an uncle-next-door, chatty and amiable, obliging you a cup of coffee and bearhugs, the cloak of a world-beating manager melting.

The tracks and tees, sneakers and caps, the ruffled golden hair and careless stubble, the riot of emotions shed on the touchline, the crackling laughter and snorting, the humour and wit, all made him a common man’s manager, one even the man on the street could relate to. He had none of the heavy air or hubris of a high-class manager. He explained tactics lucidly, seldom mocked a player or manager he disliked in public, rarely talked himself up, barely kicked up a scandal, and found meaning and perspective in both success and defeat.

The success he found, alas, would forever be measured against the success of his great adversary Pep Guardiola. A league crown, Champions League title, an FA Cup and Club World Cup compares unfavorably with City’s stack in this span (a treble, five league title and a pile of less-glittering trophies). But Guardiola would pay the biggest compliment that Klopp was his biggest rival; that he would sleep more peacefully. No team has come close in challenging City as Liverpool has in the last decade. Twice, Liverpool were denied by a point on the last day; the year before Liverpool were one game away from a quadruple. A goal here, a save there, Klopp could have left England with a more bulging bag of trophies.

Theirs was