Jürgen Klopp

Jürgen Norbert Klopp was born on 16 June 1967 in Stuttgart, the state capital of Baden-Württemberg, to Elisabeth (1939–2021) and Norbert Klopp (1932–2000) a travelling salesman and a former goalkeeper. Klopp grew up in the countryside in the Black Forest village of Glatten near Freudenstadt with two older sisters. He started playing for local club SV Glatten and later TuS Ergenzingen as a junior player, with the next stint at 1. FC Pforzheim and then at three Frankfurt clubs, Eintracht Frankfurt II, Viktoria Sindlingen and Rot-Weiss Frankfurt during his adolescence. Introduced to football through his father, Klopp was a supporter of VfB Stuttgart in his youth. As a young boy, Klopp aspired to become a doctor, but he did not believe he "was ever smart enough for a medical career," saying "when they were handing out our A-Level certificates, my headmaster said to me, 'I hope it works out with football, otherwise it's not looking too good for you.'" While playing as an amateur footballer, Klopp worked a number of part-time jobs including working at a local video rental store and loading heavy items onto lorries. In 1988, while attending the Goethe University Frankfurt, as well as playing for Eintracht Frankfurt's reserves, Klopp managed the Frankfurt D-Juniors. In the summer of 1990, Klopp was signed by Mainz 05. He spent most of his professional career in Mainz, from 1990 to 2001, with his attitude and commitment making him a fan-favourite. Originally a striker, Klopp began…

Mainz 05

Upon his retirement from playing for Mainz 05, Klopp was appointed as the club's manager on 27 February 2001 following the dismissal of Eckhard Krautzun. The day after, Klopp took charge of their first match, which saw Mainz 05 secure a 1–0 home win over MSV Duisburg. Klopp went on to win six out of his first seven games in charge, eventually finishing in 14th place, avoiding relegation with one game to spare. After successfully avoiding relegation, Klopp remained head coach and appointed his former teammate Željko Buvač as his assistant—a partnership that would last 17 years, as Buvač followed Klopp as his assistant to Dortmund and FC Liverpool. In his first full season in charge in 2001–02, Klopp guided Mainz to finish 4th in the league as he implemented his favoured pressing and counter-pressing tactics, narrowly missing promotion. Mainz again finished 4th in 2002–03, denied promotion again on the final day on goal difference. After two seasons of disappointment, Klopp led Mainz to a third-place finish in the 2003–04 season, securing promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time in the club's history. Despite having the smallest budget and the smallest stadium in the league, Mainz finished 11th in their first top-flight season in 2004–05. Klopp's side finished 11th again in 2005–06 as well as securing qualification for the 2005–06 UEFA Cup, although they were knocked out in the first round by eventual champions Sevilla. At the end of the 2006–07 season,…

In October 2024, Klopp signed with Red Bull as their new Head of Global Football. He started his new role on 1 January 2025 on a four-year contract. It was also reported his contract has an exit clause that allows him to apply for the German national job, if and when Julian Nagelsmann steps down. The move received widespread condemnation in Germany. Fans and journalists alike have criticized Klopp for joining an organisation that uses the multi-club model, something he has been critical of in the past. On 1 October 2024, Klopp received the Federal Order of Merit from President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at Bellevue Palace in Berlin, for his contribution to democracy and his impact on the football world and more. He was appointed an Honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2025 for services to Football and the Community in Liverpool.

Mainz 05

2. Bundesliga third-place promotion: 2003–04 Borussia Dortmund

Bundesliga: 2010–11, 2011–12 DFB-Pokal: 2011–12; runner-up: 2013–14, 2014–15 DFL-Supercup: 2013, 2014 UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2012–13 Liverpool

Premier League: 2019–20 FA Cup: 2021–22 Football League Cup/EFL Cup: 2021–22, 2023–24; runner-up: 2015–16 FA Community Shield: 2022 UEFA Champions League: 2018–19; runner-up: 2017–18, 2021–22 UEFA Super Cup: 2019 FIFA Club World Cup: 2019 UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2015–16 Individual

German Football Manager of the Year: 2011, 2012, 2019 VDV Bundesliga Coach of the Season: 2010–11 Deutscher Fernsehpreis: 2006, 2010 Onze d'Or Coach of the Year: 2019 The Best FIFA Men's Coach: 2019, 2020 IFFHS World's Best Club Coach: 2019 IFFHS Men's World Team: 2019 World Soccer Awards World Manager of the Year: 2019 Globe Soccer Awards Best Coach of the Year: 2019 LMA Hall of Fame: 2019 LMA Manager of the Year: 2019–20, 2021–22 Premier League Manager of the Season: 2019–20, 2021–22 Premier League Manager of the Month: September 2016, December 2018, March 2019, August 2019, September 2019, November 2019, December 2019, January 2020, May 2021, January 2024 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award: 2020 Freedom of the City of Liverpool: 2022 Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany: 2024 Honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire: 2025