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A Reds legend was delighted to see the head coach who “gets the people” on Merseyside extend his contract at Anfield
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is club legend Bill Shankly “reincarnated in a German body”, according to Bruce Grobbelaar.
Klopp joined up with the Reds back in 2015, replacing Brendan Rodgers in the hot seat, following a hugely successful seven-year spell at Westfalenstadion with Borussia Dortmund.
The 52-year-old has since transformed Liverpool into genuine Premier League title contenders, but was made to wait for his first piece of silverware with the club after overseeing three successive final defeats.
Questions were asked of Klopp’s ability to deliver tangible success in the form of trophies after League Cup and Europa League final losses were followed up by Champions League showpiece defeat to Real Madrid in 2018.
Liverpool did, however, go one better the following year, beating Tottenham 2-0 in an all English final two weeks after being pipped to the finishing post by a single point in the Premier League by Manchester City.
The Reds have built on that platform to seize the initiative ahead of the reigning champions at the start of the 2019-20 campaign, winning 15 of their opening 16 fixtures.
City are now 14 points off the pace, with Klopp’s men sitting eight points ahead of nearest challengers Leicester heading into a hectic festive period.
Klopp had previously suggested that he could take a break from football when his contract ran out in 2022, but he signed a two-year extension on Friday to silence speculation over his future.
Grobbelaar sees similarities between the German and legendary former Liverpool manager Shankly, and thinks he is the perfect man to lead the club forward given his affinity with the fanbase.
“Jurgen Klopp is Shankly reincarnated in a German body, because he gets the people,” the ex-Reds goalkeeper told BT Sport. “Shankly when he first came here from Huddersfield, he went into the pubs and had some drinks.
“What did Jurgen Klopp do when he first came here? He went into the pubs and had some drinks with fans. Just to get the culture. He gets this city.”
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Grobbelaar added: “When he walks around this city, he’ll be welcomed in. This is not a team, it is a family. When Klopp says we don’t have songs, we have anthems, it’s true.”
The 62-year-old was speaking ahead of Liverpool’s home clash with Watford on Saturday afternoon, when they have the chance to extend their 33-match unbeaten run in the Premier League.
The Reds will then turn their attention to a Carabao Cup quarter-final tie against Aston Villa on Tuesday, 24 hours before their FIFA Club World Cup campaign gets underway in Qatar.
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