The Rivalry of Jurgen Klopp Vs Thomas Tuchel

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel come face-to-face this week as the Reds of Liverpool take on the Blues of London. 

Both teams are fighting for a place in the top four and a win for Liverpool would see them climb a place above Chelsea.

As supporters look forward to the game let’s look back at how the two have crossed paths.

Both managers who are from Germany have had similar career paths. Both of their big breaks in football came at Bundesliga club FSV Mainz 05. 

Jurgen Klopp was first the manger at Mainz before he moved onto Borussia Dortmund and then Liverpool. Whereas Thursday’s opposite number started his managerial career at Augsburg II where his success sparked interest that got him the job to replace Klopp at Mainz. 

Just like the current Liverpool manager, Tuchel’s success with Mainz got him the job at Dortmund when the 53-year-old departed at the end of the 2014-15 season. Following in the footsteps of Klopp once again, the current Chelsea boss’ time at Dortmund landed him a job at one of Europe’s biggest clubs.

While both have had similar career routes, on the pitch Tuchel’s style is notably different from Klopp’s. In fact it was Pep Guardiola, and not Jurgen Klopp, that Thomas Tuchel once famously met one afternoon to discuss tactics in a restaurant.

They both rely on attractive and swarming attacks. While Klopp’s philosophy is ‘heavy metal football’ that is based on the element of gegenpressing, Tuchel’s is more of a complex concept of tactical precision in which possession plays a significant role.

Another difference between the two is the clubs they went on to manage outside of German football. Post-Dortmund, Klopp was seduced by the challenge of a sleeping giant in Liverpool FC and Tuchel by the desire of a club determined to win their first-ever Champions League title in Paris Saint Germain.

Borussia Dortmund

In 2015 when Tuchel inherited Klopp’s Dortmund squad, the players he had to work with were used to Klopp’s style of ‘heavy metal football’. Heavy metal football, if you do not know, is aggressive pressing, relentless counter-attacking and giving everything you have until the last minute. When all of the elements are put together, it gets the fans jumping from the first minute to the last.

(Photo by PA Images/Sipa USA)

Both Dortmund teams were almost identical apart from one big difference in deep-lying playmaker Julian Weigl who Tuchel signed in his first season. 

Like a Xavi or Andrea Pirlo, Weigl was key to the Dortmund midfield and his presence resulted in Dortmund shifting from a quick counter-attacking team to a possession-based side.  

Who was the most successful at Borussia Dortmund? Klopp 2008-2015:

X2 Bundesliga titles.

X1 DFB Pokal.

X2 DFL Supercup.

2008/09

Upon his Dortmund arrival, Klopp set about making the club a feared one once again and achieved this as Dortmund went the entire league season unbeaten at home. However, Klopp’s Dortmund finished sixth and missed out on European football.

2009/10

Klopp helped the team get back into European competition for the first time in seven years.

2010/11

Der BVB were knocked out of cup competitions but were relentless in the league. The Black and Yellows won their first league title since 2002.

2011/12

Dortmund won the league by eight points ahead of Bayern Munich, setting a Bundesliga points record. They also won the DFB Cup in spectacular style by smashing Bayern 5-2.

2012/13

In the Champions League, Dortmund were drawn into the ‘group of death’ alongside Manchester City, Real Madrid and Ajax. However, this did not faze them as they made it to the final which was played at Wembley Stadium in London. Unfortunately, they missed out on winning the cup when they were beaten 2-1 by Bayern Munich.

2013/14

The team finished second against Bayern in the league and DFB Polka but did win the DFL Supercup.

(Photo by PA Images/Sipa USA)

2014/15

Things seemed to go from bad to worse as the club were second from bottom over the winter period. In the Spring fortunes changed and a strong end to the campaign saw them finish seventh and qualify for Europe.

Dortmund also reached the DFB Cup final for a third season running but lost out to a Kevin De Bruyne inspired Wolfsburg.

In April Klopp announced his decision to leave BVB. In his final home match a 3-2 win was followed by a tearful farewell.

Klopp left Dortmund as their longest-serving manager.

Tuchel 2015-2017:

X1 Bundesliga runner-up in his first season.

X1 DFB Pokal in his second and final season.

In his first season as Borussia Dortmund manager, Thomas Tuchel revitalized the club and the German club tallied 78 points which was the second highest in the club’s history.

The second season had it’s high in winning the the DFB Pokal and it’s low with behind the scenes issues.

It is reported that the then 43-year-old was disappointed when the club decided to sell key players Mats Hummels, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Ilkay Gundogan. Tuchel was also frustrated by the club’s inability to deliver the players he wanted. 

Subsequently, there was a breakdown in the relationship with Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke that saw both men take their feelings public.

Klopp left a Borussia Dortmund legend whilst Tuchel left with a cloud over his head.

Head-to-head

Thomas Tuchel has faced Jurgen Klopp a total of 14 times with Klopp winning nine, drawing three and losing two.

10 of those clashes were in the Bundesliga when Klopp managed Dortmund and Tuchel managed Mainz. One noteable match is one from March 2011. Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel were furious with each other. 

Tuchel’s Mainz had just scored a late equaliser against Klopp’s Dortmund while Neven Subotic lay down hurt. Klopp furious at the lack of sportsmanship, ran over to the Mainz bench to confront Tuchel, pushing over a masseur as he did so. 

After the game in a TV studio Klopp said, “You saw Subotic lying there and you didn’t give a s***!”

Later in 2016, Klopp’s Liverpool faced Tuchel’s Dortmund in the Europa League quarter-final. The first leg ended 1-1 at the Signal Iduna Park with all to play for at Anfield. 

Before kick-off both sets of fans sang in unison ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ which was one of the best renditions to date. On the pitch, Liverpool found themselves down 3-1 until the Mentality Monsters mounted a famous European comeback and got the game back to 4-4 on aggregate but due to the away goal rule Dortmund were set to go through to the semi-finals.

That was until Liverpool won a free-kick late on. James Milner was the man to take the free-kick and instead of whipping the ball into the box, Milner passed to Daniel Sturridge. 

(Photo by PA Images/Sipa USA)

Anfield held it’s breath as the unlikely hero Dejan Lovren met the ball perfectly and headed the ball into the back of the net in the 91st minute to send Liverpool through to the Europa League semi-finals. The game ended 4-3 on the night and 5-4 on aggregate.

Since that triumphant night at Anfield, Tuchel went onto manage PSG and Klopp met his old foe and the Parisian club in the Champions League group stages of the 2018/19 season. 

On match day Klopp’s Liverpool beat Tuchel’s PSG 3-2. Once again, the winning Liverpool goal came in the 91′ but this time from Roberto Firmino. In the reverse fixture the Reds fell short and were defeated 2-1 in Paris. This was Klopp’s first defeat to Tuchel since 2010.

This defeat did not worry Liverpool as they went onto win the tournament and claim their sixth Champions League title.

A Reunion In the Premier League

It is evident that both German managers are talented and have the experience to match. They learned in Germany and now are set to rival each other once again in the Premier League.

Liverpool and Chelsea are currently separated by only one point and should Liverpool win the game, they will leapfrog Chelsea up to fifth place.