A file picture shows then Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp celebrating after the German Cup DFB Pokal semi-final football match against FC Bayern Munich.
DPA/London
Liverpool are reportedly targeting the German coach Juergen Klopp in a bid to restore success to the former kings of English football.
The decision to sack Brendan Rodgers after just over three years in charge, just hours after the Merseyside derby on Sunday, showed a ruthlessness on behalf of the club’s owners.
Now British media are reporting the Fenway Sports Group (FSG) is hoping that Klopp, the man who took on Bayern Munich and won with Borussia Dortmund, can be persuaded to come to Anfield.
Certainly Klopp fits the mould that FSG like - young, inventive and with a preference for playing attractive football.
But while Rodgers, who took Liverpool so close to the title just 18 months ago, is of a similar mould, Klopp delivered success.
In his seven years in charge, Dortmund won the Bundesliga twice and reached the final of the Champions League.
That was despite being at a club with a fraction of the resources of Bayern Munich.
Linked with Liverpool ever since he announced he would be leaving Dortmund last summer, Klopp is seen as the man to bring success back to the club that dominated English football and, for a while, European football, in the 1980s.
Eccentric nature
His eccentric nature - he once took his side to a lake for five days where the players had no electricity - will find favour with Liverpool fans.
The question will be if he is willing to go along with the Liverpool model of 2015 - a transfer committee and a general policy of buying young, not necessarily proven players and turning them into stars.
Rodgers eventually paid the price, not just for not bringing the Premier League title back to Anfield - they have not won the league since 1990 - but for a failed transfer history, spending a total of 292 million pounds (444 million dollars).
Allowing Luis Suarez, Raheem Sterling and Steven Gerrard to leave within the space of a year cost him dear.
Liverpool hope to have a new manager in place by the time they play Tottenham in their next match, after the international break.
Former Chelsea and AC Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti is also reportedly in the frame but it would be a surprise if Klopp is not given the chance to show his worth.
Either or, Liverpool will be desperate to recruit a manager who can toe the line of the management and also deliver results.
