There are many similarities between Jurgen Klopp and Bill Shankly.
Renowned for his charisma, Bill Shankly was adored by the Anfield faithful. A hero of Merseyside, the best thing about the Scot, however, was that his success at the club was not what defined his reign.
And that’s saying something when you consider the trophy laden years he enjoyed at Liverpool throughout the 60s and 70s.
Instead, it was the magic he brought to the club, the aura he brought to Liverpool, the spirit he fostered there that was so powerful that it spread from within the four walls of the dressing room all the way out to the city itself and every single Liverpudlian was gripped by it.
And then it spread further and further afield because young kids and adults alike were lured in by the naturalness of it all, the buzz of it all.
That feel-good factor existed because Shankly had a connection with these people. Though he was in the type of high position that sees many become aloof, he remained as one of them.
That was how Liverpool was built and that was what helped it become the iconic club that it is today.
Jurgen Klopp has something similar about him. The German has infested himself in all things Liverpool ever since his arrival.
Just as he celebrates every goal scored wildly and rues every goal conceded so obviously, his emotional attachment to the club becomes clear.
Liverpool fans adore this because they see themselves in him. With Liverpool booking their place in the Champions League final later this month, the success is coming along too and it’s the perfect cocktail at the moment.
In the aftermath of the club’s Champions League semi-final victory over Roma, former Liverpool and Ireland defender Mark Lawrenson struck a comparison between Klopp and Shankly.
“He gets the history of the football club, he really gets the supporters and knows generally it’s a working class football club.
“He can operate people and get people on his side and it’s a really, really clever thing to do.
"He's a modern-day version of Shankly"
Mark Lawrenson says #LFC boss Jurgen Klopp resembles Bill Shankly in his understanding of the club. pic.twitter.com/BC6tCw8vnC
— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) May 2, 2018
“I always loathe to compare people but there’s definitely so much of Shankly in him, there really seriously is.
“He’s a completely different version, but a modern day version of Shankly…I’m not getting carried away because they’ve got to the final. It’s just the way that he is.”
Lawrenson definitely does make a fair point here when striking the comparison between the pair’s passionate personalities, but there’s no denying that the ‘modern day version of Shankly’ comment raised a few eyebrows.
Some supporters felt that he was indeed, getting a bit too carried away with the emotion of it all.
So we are just going to ignore the fact that he hasn’t won anything with Liverpool yet being compared to one of the best ever in the game ?
— Warden Of The North™ (@citydreamland) May 3, 2018
Sums up perfectly why I can’t stand Liverpool 👌
— Conor Melaugh (@C_Melaugh) May 2, 2018
After all, Klopp is yet to win a trophy at Liverpool and were they to lose the Champions League final and finish behind Manchester United in the League, everything wouldn’t be so rosy in the garden.
May will be defining.
