Jurgen Klopp prepares for a heartfelt return to Anfield this month, leading Liverpool Legends in a charity match against Borussia Dortmund Legends. The event, scheduled during the March international break, supports the LFC Foundation, a initiative close to the German’s heart. Klopp shares managerial duties with Sir Kenny Dalglish, while Steven Gerrard features as a player.
Klopp’s Emotional Anfield Comeback
On March 28, Klopp steps back into the Anfield dugout for this special fixture. As an honorary ambassador for the LFC Foundation, he es deep pride in the role. “I’m really proud to be an Ambassador for the LFC Foundation. It means a lot to me, honestly,” Klopp stated. “To be back at Anfield for the Legends game, alongside Sir Kenny and his team, playing against the BVB legends, that is something special. It’s going to be a very emotional and special day for me, for the LFC Foundation and for everyone involved. I can’t wait and I really hope to see you all there.”
Criteria for Any Future Managerial Role
Should Klopp resume management, he prioritizes clubs centered on football over commercial interests. This principle guided his 2015 move to Liverpool, despite interest from Manchester United and Real Madrid. Reflecting in 2018, the 58-year-old shared: “I love the history. I really am a football romantic. I knew I probably can help. They maybe really need me, in this time. I know what I’m good at. When they told me about the problems they had I thought, ‘OK, yeah, I am probably the really right manager for that club’. They took me like I am, they didn’t ask me to do anything else, so I could focus from the first day completely on football. It is a football club. A football club. I had talks with other clubs and they didn’t sound like a football club. It sounded like marketing, image, you need to sign this, you need to sign that. And I thought, ‘Wow, that’s not the game I love.'”
Post-Liverpool, Klopp vows never to manage another English club. “What I know definitely – I will never, ever manage a different club in England than Liverpool, 100 per cent,” he affirmed in 2024. “That’s not possible. My love for this club, my respect for the people, is too big.” Last year, he added nuance: “I said I will never coach a different team in England so that means, if [I did return], then it’s Liverpool. So, yeah, theoretically it is possible.”
Wife Ulla’s Key Role in Career Choices
Klopp frequently consults his wife, Ulla Sandrock, on major decisions. Married since 2005 during his Mainz tenure, Ulla influenced his 2022 contract extension to 2026. “The most important contract I signed in my life was the one with Ulla,” Klopp noted. “And that’s why it started again, because actually we sat at the kitchen table and Ulla said, ‘I can’t see us leaving in 2024.’ I said, ‘What?’ That’s how it all started.”
Ulla’s community ties run deep. During the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown, she donated to Formby Community Football Club and distributed £1,000 in food vouchers to supermarket staff. A Waitrose employee praised the gesture: “This was an incredible thing to do. Typically, Ulla didn’t want to make a fuss, or receive any recognition, and just wanted people working in shops to get the recognition they deserve.”
