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Manager of the finals

By Ratul Ghosh

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Jurgen Klopp
Jurgen Klopp

Jurgen Klopp has an enviable trophy cabinet. The current Liverpool boss has won a total of 12 trophies in his managerial career. Right from the days of managing Mainz, Klopp has made it a habit to win silverware.

Apart from winning the various league competitions, Klopp has also been triumphant in quite a few Cup finals.

Having won almost everything with Borussia Dortmund, he had to endure a lean spell for some years in finals. However, he finally broke through with that epic triumph in the 2019 UEFA Champions League.

Read also: The combined XI of Liverpool and Real Madrid heading into the Champions League final

To celebrate Liverpool on the cusp of their seventh European triumph, FootTheBall takes a look back at the several Cup finals Klopp has won over the years.

As close as it can get!

Battles all round⚔️

 

2012 DFB-Pokal: Borussia Dortmund 5-2 Bayern Munich

At the peak of the “heavy-metal” era of football for Dortmund, they were wrecking their opponents. Klopp led the Black & Yellow to two consecutive Bundesliga titles, and the final of the DFB-Pokal in 2012 was a mega affair.

Franck Ribery had given Bayern the lead before Dortmund came roaring back. Shinji Kagawa, Mats Hummels, and Robert Lewandowski all scored before halftime to put Klopp’s side two goals up.

Jurgen Klopp
Image credits: uefa.com

Lewandowski would complete his hat-trick in the final minutes of the match, his second half brace coming in between a strike by Arjen Robben. Dortmund were winners of the DFB-Pokal emphatically, giving Klopp his first taste of domestic cup success.

2013 UEFA Champions League: Borussia Dortmund 1-2 Bayern Munich

The first ever Champions League final for Jurgen Klopp would end in the worst possible fashion for him and Dortmund. They were one of the best teams in Europe at the time, and had put Real Madrid to the sword in the semis. Bayern were champions of Germany, and looking to avenge their loss in 2012 to Chelsea.

Dortmund started the better of the two sides, but failed to make their advantage count early on. Mario Mandzukic opened the scoring at the hour mark to put Bayern in the driving seat.

However, Ilkay Gundogan would level matters up in less than 10 minutes with an expertly taken penalty. The match seemed to be heading towards extra-time as both sides wasted chances to take the lead.

Arjen Robben scores the game-winning goal. Image credits: bundesliga.com

However, in the 89th minute, Franck Ribery’s clever backheel set up Arjen Robben, whose scuffed effort trickled past Roman Weidenfeller in goal. There would be no time left to mount a comeback as Jurgen Klopp tasted defeat. It would not be the last.

2014 DFB-Pokal: Borussia Dortmund 0-2 Bayern Munich

A year on from that night in , two German giants met again in the German Cup final. Once again, the outcome would be the same. Dortmund would take the game to extra-time, but it would be the Bavarians stamping their authority on the match.

Image credits: 90min.com

2013’s nemesis Arjen Robben scored the first goal pass the 100-minute mark, with Thomas Muller adding a second in the final seconds. Klopp would continue to be frustrated at the hands of Bayern Munich, coming up just short time and again in their encounters.

2015 DFB-Pokal: Borussia Dortmund 1-3 VfL Wolfsburg

Jurgen Klopp’s last final as manager of Borussia Dortmund would not end happily. Dortmund were aiming to avenge last year’s loss at the same stage to Bayern Munich. However, Wolfsburg had other plans. Led by a young Kevin De Bruyne, Wolfsburg raced into a three-goal lead before halftime.

Wolfsburg celebrate the DFB-Pokal
Image credits: hindustantimes.com

De Bruyne scored one after Luiz Gustavo had opened the scoring and Bas Dost scored the third. Dortmund would pull one back through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but that would be all she wrote. Klopp’s farewell from German football would not be with silverware.

2016 League Cup: Liverpool 1(1)-1(3)Manchester City

Jurgen Klopp’s first season in English football would end up with Liverpool reaching two finals. The first one was in the League Cup against Manchester City. Fernandinho scored the opener and Liverpool toiled hard to equalize, ultimately succeeding in the 83rd minute. The match headed to extra-time where there would be no more goals.

Jurgen Klopp
Image credits: talksport.com

A penalty shootout beckoned with Emre Can kicking things off successfully. Fernandinho would miss City’s first before Liverpool collapsed. The Reds would go on to miss each of their next three shots as Willy Caballero pulled off fantastic saves every time.

With City not missing another penalty, it came down to Yaya Toure scoring the game-winning spot-kick to break Liverpool’s hearts.

2016 UEFA Europa League: Liverpool 1-3 Sevilla

Liverpool were in the Europa League for Jurgen Klopp’s debut season with the club. Klopp would instantly turn on his magic as the Reds made it to the final. However, they entered the final as the underdogs because facing them were Europa League specialists Sevilla.

Image credits: metro.co.uk

The Spaniards were two-time defending champions but went behind early to a sumptuous goal from Daniel Sturridge. Sevilla would equalize in the second half through Kevin Gameiro. Liverpool were in search of the winner, but Coke popped up with a brace to put the game to bed. Klopp extended his poor record of losing European finals.

2018 UEFA Champions League: Liverpool 1-3 Real Madrid

The famous or infamous final depends on which country you belong to. Madrid were the favorites, having won the past two years. Liverpool were in their first Champions League final since 2007. The match started in an even manner, but the major talking point of the first half was Mo Salah going off injured after a tackle by Sergio Ramos.

The game opened up in the second half. Karim Benzema got the final’s first goal after charging down a throw from Loris Karius. Sadio Mane would equalize soon after, but Gareth Bale would restore the lead with an audacious bicycle kick. He would add a second with a strike from more than 40 yards out that went through Loris Karius.

Image credits: irishmirror.ie

Liverpool would not make any late comeback as Jurgen Klopp succumbed to yet another Cup final defeat, and his second in the competition.

2019 UEFA Champions League: Liverpool 2-0 Spurs

Having reached a second consecutive Champions League final, Liverpool were the favorites this time. It was an all-English affair but Spurs never got going. Mo Salah opened the scoring less than two minutes from the penalty spot. Divock Origi added a second just minutes before the end after Liverpool controlled most of the proceedings.

Jurgen Klopp had finally conquered the tournament in his third attempt. Mo Salah had his final, after missing out in 2018. However, the most important thing was Klopp putting his “cursed” luck in Cup finals to rest.

2019 UEFA Super Cup: Liverpool 2(5)-2(4) Chelsea

Liverpool went to Istanbul to take on Europa League winners Chelsea. Olivier Giroud opened the scoring in the first half before Sadio Mane leveled things up in the second. The match went to extra-time where Mane added a second.

Jorginho scored a penalty as the match itself went to a shootout. Liverpool were five out of five with their spot-kicks, leaving Tammy Abraham to score Chelsea’s fifth. However, his low effort was saved by Adrian, meaning Liverpool and Klopp were the best teams in Europe.

2019 FIFA Club World Cup: Liverpool 1-0 Flamengo

In the battle of the champions around the world, Liverpool were undoubtedly the most fancied. They entered at the semi-final stage and earned a hard-fought last-minute win over Monterrey.

That earned them the chance to face Flamengo and Roberto Firmino, winner of the last round, was the hero again. The Brazilian striker scored the game’s only goal in extra-time to sink Flamengo. Jurgen Klopp had completed the three-peat of continental trophies after a hugely successful year.

2022 Carabao Cup: Liverpool 0(11)-0(10) Chelsea

The Reds would begin to become the scourge of Chelsea over the years. Klopp had orchestrated a mammoth upturn in the fortunes of Liverpool, as they won the Premier League in 2020.

Chasing a quadruple in 2022, Liverpool entered the first of three Cup finals in the Carabao Cup. Chelsea were the opponents and Thomas Tuchel had uplifted the Blues in their own right.

After a grueling battle of over 120 minutes, the match went to penalties. Tuchel had brought on Kepa but the Spaniard was helpless in face of all 11 Liverpool players scoring, including Caiomhin Kelleher. That left Kepa to take Chelsea’s final spot-kick, but he blazed it over the bar. Klopp had finally won his first domestic Cup competition in England.

2022 FA Cup: Liverpool 0(6)-0(5) Chelsea

The duel between red and blue would continue onto another final in the same year. Like the Carabao Cup, once again, it would finish goalless for 120 minutes. This time, it was Edouard Mendy in goal, who saved compatriot Sadio Mane’s potential match-winning kick. With Cesar Azpilicueta missing earlier, the shootout went into sudden death.

Mason Mount failed to convert his penalty, leaving Kostas Tsimikas to play the role of the unlikely hero. Klopp had won his second consecutive domestic Cup final and could look forward to adding another Champions League trophy to his cabinet.

2022 UEFA Champions League: Liverpool 0-1 Real Madrid

After a string of successes came this hiccup. Jurgen Klopp took his Liverpool side to battle against Real Madrid in what was expected to be a showcase for Liverpool as a dominant force. However, Real Madrid in Champions League is different gravy.

A masterclass in goalkeeping by Real Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois and some opportunistic finishing by Vinicius Jr. proved to be Liverpool’s undoing as their dream of a cup treble in the 2021-22 season was left in tatters.

Ratul Ghosh
His name means Red and a fan of devilish food, which equals to his favourite team being Manchester United. Can be found sleeping or in front of the TV otherwise. Hates waking up early but loves staying up late for football.

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