How Jurgen Klopp Fits the Politics of Liverpool FC
And why the breakaway European Super League would have disgusted him.
Recently, Liverpool obliterated Manchester United 5–0, at Old Trafford. And, it would be fair to say that now is as good a time as ever to wax lyrical about Jurgen Klopp and the significance of what he has achieved at Liverpool.
As a sizable portion of the Medium audience is US-based, one might declare me ill-advised to start an article with praise for socialism of any kind. Yet, if the popularity of Bernie Sanders tells us anything, there are certain aspects to it that most people would agree with, such as ‘Shanks’ (The Bill Shankly’s, Scottish soccer player) take on it below —
The socialism I believe in is everybody working for the same goal and everybody having a share in the rewards. That’s how I see football, that’s how I see life.” — Bill Shankly
While the phrase ‘football’s coming home’ can be particularly irksome to non-British football fans, there is a strong justification for it. With the sport itself developing in a working-class culture dominant in the Northern half of the country, Liverpool FC developed amidst the principles spoken by Shankly nearly a hundred years later and which Klopp continues to abide by in the modern age.
Yet, not everything ‘left-wing’ was synonymous with Liverpool. Karl Marx once claimed that ‘religion is the opium of the people.’ Well, football itself disproved that as it became the cornerstone of the working-class male’s life.
English football is rooted in working-class culture, something that Liverpool FC has long prided itself on.
So, where does Jurgen Klopp fit in?
Dortmund Days
To understand how Klopp fits into the above, it is first worth examining one of his former clubs — Borussia Dortmund and the similarities between them and Liverpool.
At first glance, the fans are noteworthy in that both are regarded as one of the world’s best. They even share an anthem — “You’ll Never Walk Alone” — which is also regarded as one of the best anthems in the world! Most clubs envy the Kop at Anfield and the ‘Yellow Wall’ at Signal Iduna Park.
But beyond that, at a deeper level, both sets of supporters emerged from a working-class environment. It is natural that this comes with a near perennial association with being the underdog and a sense that the affluent are a different breed. During his spell at Dortmund, Klopp epitomized that idea when speaking about their well-off rivals in Munich:
We have a bow and arrow and if we aim well, we can hit the target. The problem is that Bayern has a bazooka.
Ever the underdog.
While he has since succeeded in restoring Liverpool to the lofty heights of the past, they were very much the underdog back when he took over in 2015.
The politics of the city
In December 2019, as the Tories dismantled Labour’s fabled ‘red wall.’ Liverpool remained steadfast in its support for the opposition party. An outlier, an underdog, but above all, a city that put human values before the dog eat dog type of capitalistic ventures that continue to plague modern society.
Liverpool represented the polar opposite of Margaret Thatcher’s vision for Britain: it was working-class, Labour voting, and trade union supporting. In part because of that, the British elite and the media systematically blamed the Liverpool supporters for the Hillsborough tragedy, describing those involved as drunk, out of control hooligans determined to cause trouble, attack police, and pickpocket the dead.
In an unfortunately now-removed newspaper article, Ian Byrne, the Labour MP for West Derby and a founder of the Fans Supporting Foodbanks initiative, has been impressed in his conversations with Klopp: ‘He’s a perfect fit for the club and city,’ Byrne says. ‘He gets it. He’s politically astute and very inquisitive. ‘He doesn’t understand what’s going on in this country. He understands that foodbanks are necessary but is appalled that a nation as rich as this has people going hungry.’
But, if you don’t trust the veracity of my snippet above, take it from the man himself when directly asked which way he leans politically:
And again on Brexit:
I still hope that somebody uses common sense and doesn’t try to improve only their own position. It’s all about the people and about Europe. For me, this is a wonderful place in Europe and I hope it stays like this.” — favoring the collective over the individual. — Klopp
Superleague shenanigans
The attempt by JP Morgan to invest over $4 billion into the creation of a European super league stood in stark contrast to all of the above.
While nobody was surprised at the notion that Manchester City and Chelsea followed the dollar signs, the outrage largely centered around Liverpool and Manchester United. For Liverpool, its very identity was being called into question.
While it is clear by now why Klopp would be ideologically opposed to such a move,
If ever golden handcuffs presented themselves in a literal sense it was to be seen on that Monday night football — Klopp’s employers meant he could not actually, as Gary Neville put it, ‘destroy’ his owners, rather demonstrate restraint in comments about disagreeing with it. Be assured, inside he would be fuming.
He displayed working class integrity by sticking to his principles. Integrity, which his owners were found lacking, despite apologizing and claiming they want what’s best for football.
Admittedly, there can be no denying LFC is now a significant corporate power, even an exceptionally well run one these days, but what wealthy oligarchs discovered recently, in the midst of unprecedented backlash over the superleague, is that in the UK, fans still trump money.
On Vaccination
Again, people are put first. Klopp has been unrelenting in his pro-vaccine stance and the emphasis on protecting others. You don’t get this from the Tory party, well, you do but it is superficial (see Boris Johnson’s party photos when the rest of the country was on lock-down. Do as I say, not as I do).
When you marry the clear, people first, workers first political stances of Jurgen Klopp, with an outstandingly successful and charismatic character, you have a — pardon the pun — match made in heaven. A nirvana that most Liverpool fans hope never ends.
When I left Dortmund, I said it’s not important what people think when you come in but what they think when you leave.
