i’m back and yknow what that means? block of text time
hot take: Klopp is exactly what madrid need right now, which is why they’ll never go for him.
i hate to say it, but i think klopp is perfect for what madrid need right now: someone with a strong personality, good man management, and a strict no-asshole attitude, who can completely take over the dressing room, bring up youth players, throw out the huge egos, and completely revamp the club’s approach to transfers and players. he understands more than any other manager in the world that a good team isn’t the one with the best players in every position, but the one that can work together instead of relying heavily on individual brilliance.
but he’d demand a LOT of power, mainly in authority over who stays and who goes. his no asshole policy would rule out like half of madrid’s current roster, and Madrid’s upper level management (ie Perez) would never cede an ounce of power to a coach.
that very power structure seems to be exactly what has screwed madrid managers throughout their entire modern history. zidane (2nd spell), ancelotti, and xabi, all proven and capable managers, lost the dressing room by the end of their tenure. of their last 19 managers, only five have stayed more than 2 years, and that trend holds true for essentially their entire managerial history.
the top-heavy nature of the club’s entire power structure and the “galactico” mindset has led to a constant cycle of huge money transfers, followed by short term, immediate success, and ultimately culminating in the manager losing the huge personality-filled dressing room and being thrown out.
klopp, on the other hand, is a manager who has always been hands-on at every club he’s been at. he’s a genuinely good person, and thus demands the same from his players, and his no-asshole policy has shaped some of the most entertaining teams of the decade (think dortmund’s 2011/12 UCL run, and liverpool 2018/19–2019/20). he builds teams that, simply, just work together.
Klopp is quite literally the antithesis of madrid as an institution, and that’s exactly what madrid need— an overhaul; unfortunately for them, their leadership would never let that happen, and so madrid will remain in the same constant loop of ups and downs and drama and scandal
but it works, doesn’t it? sure. trophies are won, money is earned, fans are happy. but it does mean that instead of a team, madrid are simply just a group of, albeit very talented, individuals.
