Posts Tagged ‘Jurgen Klopp’

Klopp has made me a better person!

May 27, 2024

Jurgen Klopp speech at farewell

“Klopp has made me a better person” he said to us over a pint. You don’t hear guys talking like that, but he was right.

At the beginning of this year I bought two very overpriced tickets on one of those websites for the last Liverpool FC home match of the season against Wolves for my son and I. Not the worst birthday present for him I thought!

At the time Liverpool were top of the tree and maybe just maybe we might witness a historic premiership win?

Since then a premiership win was impossible after an awful run of matches in April and the occasion instead became a farewell to Jurgen Klopp. Like every Liverpool fan we were heartbroken to hear that he was leaving.

The occasion was amazing , the love for Klopp in the city is so huge and in truth the actual match was a sideshow.

Jurgen Klopp graffiti in Baltic Triangle in Liverpool i

The crowd worked through the usual repertoire of songs during the game but kept on coming back to the anthem for the manager “We’re so glad that Jurgen is a red, we’re so glad and this is what he said ….”

At 87 mins every man woman and child in each corner of the stadium stood up and sang that song, over and over, louder and louder for at least 10 mins until the final whistle.

The podium was moved into the centre of the pitch, the full squad formed a guard of honour while all exiting players and coaches were given a huge send off, and then there was Klopp.

The kind words were said, he gave a perfect rousing speech, he ran to each section of the crowd giving his signature fist pumps and before we knew it it was all over and we were making our way out of the stadium.

An hour later a few of us thirsty souls were enjoying a pint downtown having a post mortem about Jurgen. One of the guys with us, a Liverpudlian ,Adam said a really profound thing.

“Jurgen has made me a better person”

Wow, isn’t that huge I thought and I agree with him 100%, but why?

I’ve been thinking about this ever since and Jurgen has taught us an awful lot about being better people.

Doubters to Believers

The very first day he told us to have the right attitude when you approach anything, including your football team. Support and don’t judge!

Never give up

Until the very last minute you need to keep on trying and when you do anything can happen. He asked us to do this and we saw the result of this on countless occasions,

Enjoy the occasion

He told us continuously that there are lots of things that are a lot more important than football but football was to be enjoyed. Find your escapes, whatever they may be.

Positive attitude

No matter what you do, with the right attitude you can achieve anything. Even when the odds were stacked against this team you can prevail. We all need to remember that, whatever we do.

Every minute counts and never give up

He scolded fans for leaving the stadium early when things didn’t seem to be going well. Supporting the team until the very end paid dividends on so many occasions. If we show belief and encouragement then people will respond accordingly.

Humour and a smile

Every interview and press conference (nearly all!) were conducted with a smile and lots of humour. That huge beaming smile of his was infectious and his use of humour followed with that big hearty laugh got people on his side.

Hugs !!

While some people don’t like hugs Jurgen clearly wasn’t too bothered by that. Big heartfelt hugs are good, show people the love if you mean it!!

Hard Work

You achieve nothing without hard work and preparation – Klopp always spoke about the importance of a tough training camp at the beginning of the season to prepare the team properly. You won’t achieve anything without this!

Friendship and Family

Throughout his time at Liverpool he always made a big deal about the spirit of the team and the importance of team bonding. Every player used speak about the unique spirit at the club, the special bond between everyone, how families were looked after and the difference that makes. I want to work in that environment.

Celebrate the wins

The pure joy of winning was always evident with him. At times he was childlike with his celebrations. Instead of being cool and calm he punched the air, ponded his chest. It’s good to celebrate – show what it means to you.

Solidarity

When asked about tricky situations such as vaccinations of players he never gave a medical opinion but instead he spoke about the importance of solidarity, being in it together.

The Team includes everyone

Liverpool team after Barcelona match

Before huge matches when “we” were up against it he would say at the press conferences before the game that the team is everyone and we need “everyone” to be in top from. He would mention the fans, the ball boys and the hot dog seller. What a life lesson!

Kindness

Whether it was a kid in a hospital, an invalid, a retiree, anyone – you could see the genuine kindness and warmth he showed them all. He did the most wonderful interviews with these people and you could see how much it meant. We can all be kinder.

His team

He always took responsibility for poor results and never criticised a player, ever. There were some huge games when awful individual mistakes cost us. He never blamed the player.

Departing players

I have never heard of a disagreement or a bad word towards a departing player or a member of his backroom staff. I’m sure there were disagreements but he never spoke about them after, and if anything was said it was always kind.

Bounce back

When we lost big finals or big matches he always saw the positive and used these disappointing occasions as fuel for going again. On one occasion after losing a Champions League Final he was seen singing with fans in pub after!

Humility

From the first very press conference he told us he wasn’t a special one, but an ordinary one. He never brags and he always gives praise and credit to everyone else. That never changed over the years.

Motivator

Even in the last moments of that farewell speech to us he started to sing the name of the incoming manager and he told us how special we were and the power that we bring to every match.

He knew it was the end of his time but he wanted to leave us feeling that we had every reason for feeling good about ourselves.

I’ve always contended that Jurgen Klopp could lead any organisation, any country, we need more of him.

Adam was right. If we take on board Klopp’s attitude, his kindness, his approach, his positivity, his smile, his love and his humanity then we will be better people.

Danke Jurgen for the football and the life advice!

Greg

Greg Canty is a partner at Fuzion a Brand Communications agency with offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland

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Klopp – The key moment that won the league?

June 28, 2020

Liverpool celebration against West Brom

After the historic winning of the Premiership this week by Liverpool FC, with seven matches still to play there has been a lot of analysis of Jurgen Klopp’s time at the club, with many trying to identify the “key moments” that have contributed to this huge achievement.

As a colossal and very happy Liverpool fan I’ve watched pretty much every press conference, every match including pre-season games and even the odd reserve match and since Klopp took over as manager in 2015 there have been many significant moments.

A new style of play, intensive pre-season training, the signing of some key players and a continuous learning curve have all contributed to incremental success and of course this has resulted in belief and confidence.

However for me, a key factor in this success story is Jurgen Klopp’s deep understanding of psychology – he knows how the mind works and how much this ultimately affects how the players on the pitch can play to their very best, even at times when things have gone wrong in matches and looked certain that a loss was on the cards.

The role of fans or “supporters” is huge in this and he worked on this aspect from the very first minute.

Klopp demonstrated this in his very first press conference when he identified the colossal role that an impatient but huge loyal fan base could play in the success of the team. He shaped expectations that day when he spoke about changing fans from “doubters to believers” and he also started talking about the heavy burden of past successes.

He identified immediately that an impatient, doubting crowd could “infect” the team on the pitch, to the extent that they would be playing nervously, petrified of any mistake – this had become a big problem at home matches in the past.

A month or so later Liverpool were losing at home to Crystal Palace and with five minutes to go fans started to leave the ground – he took a big risk and made a big deal of this after in his press conference.

He spoke about it being a “lonely moment” and the point he was making was very simple – if you want us to win these games, support us to the very end of the match and anything is possible. This was a huge message he was sending to the fans.

This brings me to what I consider as being the biggest moment that has contributed to the success that we have enjoyed in the last few years and it came in December 2015, a few matches after that Crystal Palace game.

We were playing at home against West Brom and with minutes to go were trailing 1-2 against this mid-table team. Burdened with history, me and most other fans were most likely thinking “typical Liverpool“.

Because of the gentle scolding that he had given to fans just weeks earlier they stayed till the end, never gave up and it worked!!

In stoppage time Divock Origi scored an equaliser and the inevitable did not happen – Klopp went wild, the team went wild and the fans went wild. The match finished 2-2.

Drawing at home to West Brom, 2-2 is a poor result for Liverpool but the last minute response when all felt lost warranted a huge celebration.

If you stay with us until the last minute and keep supporting, then anything was possible.

Klopp had coached the fans about what he needed from them and to crystallise this moment he grabbed the team and led a “bowing” session in front of the fans in the famous Kop – this was a huge acknowledgment, a thank you …you got us that goal!!

Klopp was hugely criticised in many quarters for this disproportionate celebration – we drew with West Brom, not won a cup, after all.

The idiot James McLean called Klopp “a bit of an idiot“, making this exact point.

Klopp explained what he was up to after in his press conference:

“There was a big misunderstanding against West Brom. I wanted to say thank you to the supporters after that game so I took my team towards the Kop to do it and there was a discussion everywhere about it. For me, it was ‘why should we even discuss that?’

“But I had to learn that English people are not used to that kind of thing”

“I wanted to show that we really we are one unit, 100 per cent one unit. That means I know I am responsible for the performance, but the people are responsible for the atmosphere.

“So it should be a win-win situation. When we play well, it’s easy to get the crowd going and when we don’t play well, we need you to encourage us – get on your feet, tell us ‘come on’ – you have to be the stars then.

“I want us to have the best atmosphere in world football and there is no limit to what we can do actually”

From that moment on Liverpool have won so many matches in the last few minutes, when all seemed lost and the fans were there to witness such exhilaration. And at Anfield since then we have pretty much won every single match.

As a fan there is nothing better than that last minute joy and I’ve been lucky to have been at Anfield to witness the incredible end of match atmosphere where we had last minute winners against Borussia Dortmund and Everton, both of which were huge games.

LIverpool celebration against Barcelona

Last season there was a similar celebration when we incredibly beat the mighty Barcelona, 4-0 on the way to winning the Champions League.

That gesture against West Brom in December 2015 was the moment we won the league..

How much does the right mentality matter in your business?

Greg

Greg Canty is a Partner of Fuzion Communications, a full service Marketing, PR, Graphic Design and Digital Marketing agency with offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Doubters to Believers

June 28, 2017

Jurgen Klopp - Doubters and Believers

When Jurgen Klopp took over as manager of Liverpool FC in October 2015 he made a huge statement to the worldwide fan base through the media with a simple message:

“We have to change from doubters to believers“

Jurgen is clever, he quickly picked up on the mood at this famous, previously successful club and he knew that very often it is strangled by the quick loss of faith by the fans if something doesn’t go the team’s way on the pitch during a game.

The fans groan “same old story“, “we’ll throw this one away“, “that fella’s useless” ..when that negativity creeps in it spreads like a virus and before you know it everyone is a doubter.

Fans stop cheering, fans leave early, players get nervous, they choke, fans stop attending, the team starts losing, corporates stop entertaining clients at games, sponsors move on, the best players at the club want to leave and others don’t want to come to the club, success gets further and further away.

Jurgen understood this and from the beginning he sent messages to fans in his press conferences, in the match programmes and during the games he encourages them (by gesturing frantically!) to support and scolds them for not doing so – at a match that wasn’t going according to plan at the very beginning of his reign he scolded the fans who left early in his post message press conference – you can play your vital part in the success of this team.

We are all like Jurgen with the teams that work with us, with our customers (or clients if we are being posh) with those who we would like to be customers and all other stakeholders.

We have to change them from Doubters to Believers.

Greg Canty 

Greg Canty is a Partner of Fuzion Communications, a full-service agency that offers Marketing, PR and Graphic Design services from our offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland

 

 

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The Art of Possibility – I had a great 2017 because..

January 1, 2017

Klopp - We believe

For the last few years I have been doing this simple little exercise at the start of the year to help me get focused around things that are important both personally and professionally.

I have found it to be really useful and it has made a big difference and as I look back at 2016 I can see the things that I have achieved as a result of this focus. In Fuzion we also ask all of the team to do this – it is important to us that everyone in the team achieves their personal and career goals.

Making plans and actually achieving them is always challenging and at the start of the year we find ourselves at the start of that loop all over again making promises that often will never materialise!

Benjamin Zander - The Art of PossibilityA few years ago I was inspired by a book about goal setting in a different way called “The Art of Possibility” by Benjamin and Rosamund Zander (a really interesting motivational book by the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and his wife who is an executive coach).

Benjamin Zander, the conductor has the task every year of bringing out the very best from a large group of very talented musicians for his orchestra.

His approach is rooted in the power of visualisation – the simple idea behind this is that if you visualise what you want to achieve then there is a much better chance of it actually happening (disbelievers ….stop reading now !!)

This is my application of his great idea to tap into all of Your Possibilities..

Take a quiet few moments so you can concentrate with a blank sheet of paper and a pen and I want you to do some visualisation – First take a few deep breaths and relax and close your eyes.

Now imagine the last working day of the year just before you head out the door to do some last minute shopping and enjoy a well-earned rest. You are feeling very satisfied as you reflect on your fantastic achievements during the year. Some of these were personal things and some of these were professional things – you are feeling great.

Now open your eyes and write at the top of the blank page the date:

Friday, 22nd December, 2017

Now write down this personal statement:

I had a great year because ….

Now off you go and list the things that will make 2017 a great year for you:.

Take your time and be as specific as you can including all of those business and personal goals that will give you that sense of satisfaction on that last work day.

Now you need to study this list and start figuring out how you can make this list come to life.

Put your piece of paper in a safe place so that you can refer to it throughout the year to make sure your wish list stays on track.

Enjoy realising all of your possibilities – it’s there waiting for you.

Happy 2017!!

This clip of Benjamin Zander is really motivational and well worth watching.

(the pic at the top of the post refers to the quote that Jurgen Klopp made when he was recruited as Liverpool Football Club manager. His message to the fans was that he wanted to change them from ‘doubters’ to ‘believers’. He gets visualisation! )

Greg Canty 

Greg Canty is a Partner of Fuzion Communications who offer Marketing, PR and Graphic Design services from our offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland

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Jurgen Klopp and his Ten Management Tips

December 7, 2015

Jurgen Klopp

I’m writing this a little bit depressed after a very disappointing defeat away to struggling Newcastle but in general we have seen a transformation of Liverpool FC in the last two months since Jurgen Klopp, the manager has arrived.

The players have been transformed, the same squad that we thought were lousy purchases are now looking like great players and we have had a few very impressive results of late (except for Newcastle!) and it does seem to be wholly down to the charismatic manager (the self declared Normal One) who has previously enjoyed huge success in Germany with Borussia Dortmund.

Pretty much every Liverpool fan believes that success is around the next corner, which was certainly not the case before he joined the club.

How can a manager make such a difference and can the lessons we learn from him be applied to our own businesses?

What does Jurgen do that is so special?

1.”Belief” 

The first thing he did when he joined the club was he made a declaration to the fans “We need to change from doubters to believers”

He gave every fan and player something to think about – we must believe if we want to achieve, which is a simple and yet powerful statement.

He went on to say that he believed in the team at the club, which was why he joined in the first place – if you were a player listening to these words you would feel good about yourself.

Do you believe in your team?

Jurgen Klopp

2.Honesty, openness and no jargon

When he is asked a question by the media he gives a straight, honest and open answer. He talks in a simple way that we all understand and can relate to.

He tells us that football is a simple game ..he is right!

Can you be open and honest with your team?

Jurgen Klopp hugging

3.Don’t be afraid to hug!

We watch him going onto the pitch after the matches and playfully hugging the players. This seems to be a lot more than professionals doing their jobs!

Are people happier when they are treated like this?

4.Have fun

Jurgen loves to laugh, he has a huge smile and he seems to do it all of the time and it is infectious. At the press conferences the media laugh with him.

He tells the players to enjoy themselves on the pitch.

Can work be fun?

Jordan Henderson with Klopp

5.Don’t take it too seriously

Unlike Bill Shankly the legendary Liverpool manager who said football was “more important than life or death” Jurgen says it is just a game and that it should be enjoyed and not taken too seriously – you can see he lives this.

Are your team so stressed that they can’t function properly?

6.Work Hard

This is a key success factor with him. All of his teams are known for their ferocious work ethic – without hard work you won’t win.

This is totally non-negotiable with him.

Are your team prepared and motivated enough to give  you 110%?

7.Have a plan

Already he has managed a few historic victories against some of the big teams and he puts this down to hard work combined with good planning. In one of these matches he fielded a surprising team who played exceptionally and won – he explained after that he had time to plan and prepare with this group of players so there was no point using some of the bigger stars.

Are you planning carefully?

8,Things go wrong – that’s football!

He commented that with the Liverpool team he noticed that they would implode if they conceded in a match and as a result could not recover from this situation.

He has taught the team to accept that things will go wrong and that this is part and parcel of competing – just learn not to give up when it happens!

Do your team have resolve?

9.Mr Motivator

He does seem to have the gift of bringing the best out of each and every single player. He seems to know when a hug works, when a few positive mentions in press conferences will work and when helpful advice from the sideline works (he does scream and roar during the matches).

We clearly don’t see everything that goes on but the players have gone on record as to the huge difference he has made to them.

Do you feel motivating your team is important?

klopp celebrating

10.Passion

Take just one look at him when he celebrates a goal or even when he lives every kick and moment of the matches…he is incredibly passionate!

If you aren’t passionate can you expect your team to be?

What factors would you add to this list?

Greg Canty 

Greg Canty is a Partner of Fuzion PR, Marketing and Graphic Design, with offices in Dublin and Cork

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