Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has been named men's coach of the year at the FIFA's 'The Best' award ceremony in Italy. Lionel Messi and Megan Rapinoe picked up individual honors in the men's and women's categories.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/M. Bertorello
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Germany's Jürgen Klopp has been named men's coach of the year at FIFA's 'The Best' awards ceremony at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy, capping off a sensational year at the helm of UEFA Champions League winners Liverpool.
"It is great, nobody expected this 20, 10, five, four years ago that I would be standing here," said the 52-year-old, who joined the Reds in 2015. "I have to say thank you to my outstanding club Liverpool FC. As a coach you can only be as good as your team. I'm really proud of being coach of such an incredible bunch of players."
The award is the latest landmark in a unique rise to the pinnacle of his profession for one of Germany's greatest exports, who began his coaching career without the neccessary coaching badges when he took over as interim head coach at Mainz in 2001. His cheeky demeanour, undiluted passion and raw emotions have endeared him to every fan base he's come in contact with on the way to the top — even those sporting different colors.
A double winner with Borussia Dortmund in 2012, Klopp had to endure his fair share of heartbreak — six finals, two clubs and eight years without a trophy to be exact — before being crowned European champions with Liverpool at the end of last season. His post-match rendition of 'Let's Talk About Six, Baby' in reference to the Merseyside club's Champions League titles will live long in the memory, but on this occasion Klopp used his platform to announce his decision to join the .Common Goal initiative
"While it is flattering to receive an individual award today, in football and in life, nothing is possible without teamwork," said Klopp. "That is why I would like to celebrate this occasion by sharing that I am joining Common Goal and pledging 1% of my earnings to help change the world through football.
The real Jürgen Klopp
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"Since Common Goal started two years ago, the movement has grown steadily proving it is a simple, effective and safe mechanism for players and managers to give back through football. As a team, even with a minimum pledge of just 1%, together the football industry is capable of transforming the world. Now is the time for those interested to take a step forward."
Klopp was up against Manchester City's Pep Guardiola and Tottenham's Mauricio Pochettino as he became the third German coach to win the prize, which has been awarded since 2010. Former Bayern Munich boss Jupp Heynckes and German national team head coach Joachim Löw picked up the honor in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
Messi and Rapinoe win top player awards
Meanwhile, Barcelona's Lionel Messi saw off stiff competition to win the best player of the year award for a record sixth time.
The Argentine managed to claim the prize, which was formerly known as the Ballon d'Or, despite not reaching the Champions League final. Archrival and five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo came third.
Defensive stalwart Virgil van Dijk, who led Liverpool to Champions League glory, sandwiched the two domineering players of the modern game.
Messi's win at the gala event came in a season where he did win the Spanish league title, as well as the European golden boot. "I want to thank those who gave this prize to me," he said, "even though individual awards are a secondary thing to me. It is a unique moment and it is good to celebrate it with my family and my children."
Attacking midfielder Rapinoe gives her victory speech at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, ItalyImage: Reuters/F. L. Scalzo
The 34-year-old won the Golden Boot in France, as well as the Golden Ball for being the tournament's standout player .
Rapinoe beat fellow World Cup winning co-captain Alex Morgan and England's Lucy Bronze to the crown awarded by world football's governing body.
tj, jsi/rc (AP, AFP)
Jürgen Klopp: From the German second division to FIFA's 'Best'
It's been a long journey for Jürgen Klopp - from a second-division player to winning the FIFA 'Best' award. The German coach's crown achievement so far was leading Liverpool to the 2019 Champions League title.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/P. Ellis
'In Klopp we trust'
After just four years at the club, it seems difficult to imagine a Liverpool without Jürgen Klopp. Having led the club to Champions League glory, Klopp is still looking for his first Premier League title, and based on their flying start to the season, this could be Liverpool's year. For their manager, it's been a long road that started...
Image: Getty Images/AFP/P. Ellis
Playing career
... as a player in Germany's second division. Jürgen Klopp played professional football for 15 years, spending 11 of them in Mainz. He started out as an attacker but ended his career as a defender. He retired midway through the 2001-02 season to fill the coaching vacancy at Mainz after the club sacked head coach Eckhard Krautzun. As a player, he never made it to the Bundesliga.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Nietfeld
Making Mainz
During Klopp's playing career, Mainz frequently fought against relegation to the German third tier. That changed when he took the helm at the club. In Klopp's third season, Mainz earned promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time in club history. Klopp enjoyed three seasons in the top flight before Mainz were relegated again in 2007. He left the club a year later to join Borussia Dortmund.
Image: AP
Big step up to BVB
Klopp's appointment was part of a broader strategy change at Borussia Dortmund: to make football stars instead of buying them. He committed to 20-year-olds Mats Hummels and Neven Subotic as his center back pair — the youngest in the Bundesliga. Dortmund finished in sixth place and fifth place in his first two seasons at the club.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/B. Thissen
Trophy run
From 2010 to 2012, Klopp lead Dortmund to their most successful two-year stretch in club history. They won their first Bundesliga title in nearly a decade in 2010-11. Klopp backed that accomplishment up by leading BVB to their first ever domestic double the following season.
Image: Picture-alliance/dpa/T. Silz
Fan favorite
It didn't take long for Dortmund fans to fall in love with Klopp. His press conferences became a weekly spectacle and his energy on the touchline became contagious. On the pitch, he implemented an active, high-pressing system that brought BVB, a club that was only a few years removed from near insolvency, back to the pinnacle of German football.
Image: Reuters
European precipice
Klopp did not secure domestic silverware after that two-year run, but he did lead Dortmund to the Champions League final in 2013 — their first final since their 1997 title. His side ultimately came up short against Bayern Munich, losing 2-1 late on to hand their German rivals a piece of their treble that year.
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Bitter end
Klopp's last season with Dortmund in 2014-15 was far worse than any other. His side was second bottom at the winter break, though Klopp wound up leading them to a seventh placed finish. He did manage to get BVB to the German Cup final before losing to Wolfsburg. Dortmund and Klopp decided to part ways after the season, ending his seven-year stint with the team.
Image: Reuters/Ina Fassbender
'The Normal One'
It didn't take long for Klopp to land back on his feet. Liverpool appointed the German coach in October of 2015, less than five months after he parted ways with Dortmund. In his first press conference, Klopp dubbed himself "The Normal One" — after being asked how he fitted in compared to the likes of Jose Mourinho, who notoriously once called himself "a special one."
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Roaring Reds
Liverpool fans took to Klopp's highly animated coaching approach, but it didn't initally lead to success. The Reds finished eighth in the Premier League in his first season, though he did lead them to the Europa League final before losing to Sevilla. But he guided Liverpool to the Champions League with a fourth-place finish the following season before their third place finish this past season.
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Adored once again
Much like he was in Dortmund, Klopp has become a club favorite at Liverpool. His passionate personality and the attractive attacking football enabled by players like Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane have proved a real hit in the stands.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Thissen
Opportunity missed
In 2017-18, Klopp guided Liverpool to the brink of the biggest title in European club football. However, an injury to Mo Salah and two blunders by German goalkeeper Loris Karius put paid to Liverpool's hopes of winning the 2018 Champions League.
Image: Getty Images/S. Botterill
Opportunity taken
One year later it all came good for Jürgen Klopp. At the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid Liverpool won the 2019 Champions League, beating another Premier League outfit, Tottenham Hotspur, 2-0 in the final. This was his first trophy with Liverpool and his first Champions League title.
Image: Reuters/K. Pfaffenbach
The Best
On the strength of having guided Liverpool to the 2019 Champions League title - and a second-place finish in the Premier League, Jürgen Klopp won the 2019 FIFA "Best" award in the coaching category, beating out Manchester City's Pep Guardiola and Tottenham's Mauricio Pochettino.
