Klopp leaves legendary legacy as man who restored glory days to Liverpool

The shock and disappointment on Merseyside that greeted the German's decision on Friday to announce he is stepping away is testament to a transformation that Liverpool had not seen since the days of Bill Shankly 50 years ago. On Klopp's first day in charge at Anfield in October 2015 he modestly declared himself as "a normal one", in stark contrast to Jose Mourinho's bombastic "special one" arrival as Chelsea manager a decade earlier.

Yet, Klopp would go on to achieve extraordinary feats as the only Liverpool manager to complete the clean sweep of winning the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup, Club World Cup and Community Shield. Prior to arriving in England, Klopp had succeeded in overcoming the might of Bayern Munich to win back-to-back Bundesliga titles with Borussia Dortmund.

Yet, confidence was not high that he could repeat the trick after one of the world's biggest clubs spent decades in the doldrums. Klopp arrived with Liverpool 10th in the Premier League table. His ways took time to be accepted. After a 2-2 draw at home to West Brom in December 2015, many questioned the wisdom of leading his players to join arm-in-arm in front of the Kop to celebrate a late equaliser.

Yet his force of personality, charisma and coaching nous soon began to enchant a highly emotive fanbase. The club's history has been marked by tragedy as much as triumph. The Hillsborough disaster, which killed 97 Liverpool fans in 1989, has left indelible scars. "A great communicator, a showman and the leader of the pack," said former Liverpool captain Graeme Souness on Klopp. "He is a great fit for Liverpool because he feels the emotion of the place.

"Liverpool is an extremely emotional football club, with its history, its tragedies.