Liverpool confirm JurgenKlopp as new manager

New Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp poses after the press conference - Action Images via Reuters 

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool confirmed German coach JurgenKlopp as their new manager on Thursday (8) in a deal worth a reported £4 million ($6.1 million) a year.

Former Borussia Dortmund boss Klopp is understood to have signed a three-year contract with the Premier League giants and succeeds Brendan Rodgers, who was sacked by Liverpool’s American owners Fenway Sports Group on Sunday.

“Liverpool Football Club are delighted to announce JurgenKlopp has been appointed as the club’s new manager,” the club said in a statement on their official Twitter account. “The German coach has signed a deal to take the helm at the Reds and will be presented at a press conference at Anfield on Friday morning.”

Klopp, whose first game in charge will be against Tottenham on Oct 17, arrives with Liverpool languishing in 10th place in the Premier League.

The 48-year-old will be presented at a 0900 GMT (5.00pm Singapore time) press conference on Friday following a whirlwind week at Anfield that started with the abrupt conclusion of Rodgers’ reign and ends with the significant coup of securing one of Europe’s most highly-rated managers.

Klopp is said to have agreed to a three-year contract under which he would be paid more than £4 million ($6.1 million) a year, and it is safe to say he will have earned every penny if he can restore Liverpool to their former glory.

Klopp comes to Liverpool with a lofty reputation after leading Dortmund to two Bundesliga titles in seven years, while finishing as Champions League runners-up in 2013.

However, Dortmund struggled last season, finishing seventh in the Bundesliga and losing the German Cup final in Klopp’s final game in charge before he quit at the end of the season saying he wanted a sabbatical.

Klopp, famous for his passion for heavy metal music, had twice before rejected Liverpool’s advances and ironically he arrives on Merseyside with the club’s talent pool at its lowest ebb for some time.

As a result, the German has a major task on his hands to rejuvenate a Reds squad that has suffered badly from the exits of stars like Luis Suarez, Steven Gerrard and Raheem Sterling in recent years.

Expectations for success remain high among supporters of a club who have won 18 English titles, seven FA Cups and five European Cups. But Liverpool’s relative lack of investment in comparison to their main rivals has seen them fall off the pace both in the title race and the battle to qualify for the Champions League.