Tags: Klopp, Liverpool, music, football, Jamie Webster, You’ll Never Walk Alone
By Dylan Sidhu
After the final whistle went on a sunny Sunday afternoon last week against Wolves, in Klopp’s last game as Liverpool manager, the Anfield crowd burst into their anthem, You’ll Never Walk Alone.
It was a moment in which the lyrics, which had never been more fitting, were sung in emotional unity before Klopp departed the pitch for the very last time.
This is how Klopp’s 9-year tenure at Liverpool was defined by music, including how the fans have used music to show their appreciation for the manager that they call ‘the modern day Shankly.’
The Beginning – Klopp’s Heavy metal football
Liverpool announced the signing of Jurgen Klopp in October 2015. The German manager arrived on Merseyside with a reputation of intense, high pressing football. He built this reputation after success at Dortmund, which landed him the job. In his very first press conference, he described his style of play as ‘heavy metal football.’
When comparing his style of play to Arsene Wenger, Klopp said: “He likes an orchestra. I like heavy metal.”
Michael Tremarco, a Liverpool Football tour guide, and member of the Liverpool History Society, says: “It’s clear that heavy metal football meant full on. We knew how he played football at Dortmund. Heavy metal was a change.
“Before this it was the players that picked the tracks. Jurgen is from a heavy metal background and the announcer started playing Thunderstruck from AC/DC. The whole club started buying into this new culture and it was shown through the football.”
Liverpool would soon become known for their attacking, counter-press style of football, winning games by outscoring the opposition rather than sitting deep and defending.
Peter Hooton, vice chair of Liverpool supporters Union Spirit of Shankly, says: “We knew straight away that it would be fast and furious and on the front foot which excited us all, especially after the Brendan Rodgers years.”
But it seemed heavy metal not only summed up Klopp’s style of football but also his personality.
“It was a revelation,” says Hooton. “We thought if he’s as good as his press conferences we were in for a rollercoaster ride. When he said he wanted to turn doubters into believers we were spellbound.”
The rise and the summit of Klopp – Allez, Allez, Alllez
Fast forward to May 2019 and the Liverpool fans were in Madrid ahead of a second European Cup final in as many years. Despite falling short the year before after losing the final In Kiev in 2018, the run had given the players vital experience, and a new anthem for Liverpool’s European nights was born – Allez, Allez, Allez.
Hooton says: “I think Kiev was definitely the Allez, Allez, Allez final. There was a concert in Shevchenko Park and the atmosphere was brilliant. The match was a big disappointment, but we will always remember the unique communion between the fans in the park. It was a special moment because we all knew Klopp had got us back to competing again.”
A year later In Madrid, the then up and coming musician Jamie Webster made his name by singing the song in front of 55,000 Liverpool fans before the final that they went on to win.
Tremarco said: “There was something about that season and that song underpinned everything we did.
“The greatest thing about winning the 6th European Cup was that it will always be remembered and every time I think about that game I think of that song. That’s when the song was at its zenith.”
The hero – I Feel Fine
By the summer of 2022, Jurgen Klopp had won every major trophy available to him at Liverpool and was already being compared to Bill Shankly, the man who is regarded by most to be the greatest Liverpool manager of all time. The Kop began singing a song for Klopp which was a throwback to the days of Shankly and the 60’s- a rendition of the Beatles song ‘I Feel Fine.’
David Bedford, a Beatles historian and Liverpool fan, says: “Jurgen Klopp is the closest thing we have come to our legendary manager Bill Shankly. Shankly had an affinity with the fans and introduced You’ll Never Walk Alone as our anthem. It is so fitting that Klopp, a huge Beatles fan, has a song based upon ‘I Feel Fine.’
Dan Clubbe, from RedmenTV, says: “It’s incredibly fitting. Harking back the years the Kop used to bellow out Beatles hits in glorious unison and whilst those says are somewhat a thing of the past, incorporating one of their best to serenade one of our best managers is pretty poetic.”
The End – You’ll Never Walk Alone:
In January 2024, Jurgen Klopp announced that at the end of the season he would be stepping down as Liverpool manager.
Klopp said, “I love absolutely everything about this club. I love everything about the city. I love everything about our supporters. I love the team, I love the staff, I love everything, but this is the decision that I have to take. I am running out of energy.”
Just short of a month later he won the League Cup, which would prove to be his eighth and final trophy at the club. Since Klopp’s arrival many new songs and chants have been created but it was the famous old one, You’ll Never Walk Alone, which was sung after that cup final at Wembley, which reduced Klopp to tears.
Tremarco said, “We’re famous for singing You’ll Never Walk Alone and that came along because it was in the charts in 1964 by Gerry and the Pacemakers. Bill Shankly said it was his wife’s favourite song. When it left the charts and they stopped playing it the fans chanted we want our song back, so You’ll Never Walk Alone became our anthem.”
You’ll Never Walk Alone has been sung for decades by Liverpool. It was sung long before Klopp’s arrival and will continue to be after his departure, however it will always be closely connected to him, with it also being the anthem for his previous club Borussia Dortmund.
Hooton says: “I think there will be a hangover period where every time we sing it, we think of Jurgen but we’re a massive club and this is a hugely important period to continue the success that Klopp has built. He has brought life back into the fanbase and in many ways the city. Everyone has been impacted by his presence somewhat, almost exclusively positively. That’s pretty unique and very, very special.”
Klopp’s legacy at Liverpool will go beyond the trophies that he won. He will be remembered for the work that he did within the city of Liverpool, the morals that he stuck to throughout his time at the club and his ability to motivate, inspire and unite through the universal language of music.
Photo Credits: Terry Kearney, Jurgen Klopp – Manager of Liverpool FC. Liverpool City Centre