There were 343 days between Jurgen Klopp’s final game in charge of Liverpool and the Reds being confirmed as Premier League champions under Arne Slot.
In a full circle moment, after Klopp had led chants of Slot’s name on his final day in charge — at that point before the Dutchman had even been confirmed as his successor — Slot thanked Klopp by encouraging Anfield to do the same for him once the title was won. And not without reason.
It would be unfair to suggest that Slot had not worked wonders, and he should be a shoo-in for the Premier League Manager of the Year award, but it should be acknowledged too that Klopp left behind a team on the rise. Slot has seamlessly fitted into the system, but the German deserves credit as well.
When Klopp stepped down, he did so in part because he thought the team would benefit from a new voice. He needed a change and a rest, but he also felt that Liverpool’s players could improve with someone else at the helm.
Clearly, he has been proven correct. Cody Gakpo, Ryan Gravenberch and Luis Diaz are just three of those who have found new levels this season and each has played a central role in Liverpool reaching the pinnacle.
Only Federico Chiesa and Joe Gomez, of the Liverpool title-winning squad, were not either signed by Klopp or brought through the academy by the German.
The former, of course, was the sole signing of last summer and has barely played since. The latter was already at Anfield under Brendan Rodgers when Klopp arrived.
(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Klopp’s fingerprints remain on the team that he left behind, but he trusted those behind the scenes to make the right decision on his successor. In Slot, they couldn’t have found anyone more perfectly suited.
“Because of what he did before I even arrived here,” Slot said during his post-match press conference when he was asked why he led the chants about Klopp. “I think that is something not one manager ever did before.
“So that is what definitely helped me. But apart from that, he helped me even more by the team he left behind and the culture he left behind in that team.
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“The quality the players have was obvious for everyone. But the culture of hard work — not only from the players but also from the staff members — has been incredible and that is one of the reasons why we could achieve what we have achieved this season.
“For obvious reasons, I think it was a nice moment to thank him as well.”
Klopp once said that it was not about how Liverpool viewed him when he arrived but what state he left the club in when he left that would define his legacy. The Champions League title of 2019 and the Premier League win the following year have helped shape that too, of course, but Slot’s stunning debut campaign shows exactly what he left behind.
