What is Jürgen Klopp, after all? A coach, or a modern manager whose way of building and managing his teams deserves to be studied and to earn its rightful place in leadership lessons?

In an era where everything has its price, the German uses a different scale for the values of each of his collaborators, believes in people, and chooses to create champions rather than buying them.

He invests in individuals and in the chemistry that defines the unique blend of players and consequently of teams. He has dismissed players with undeniable talent because he saw elements in their character that did not fit the atmosphere of the locker room and his aesthetic.

He places great importance on the deep motivation of each player. “You might be from Brazil, Argentina, or anywhere, and have grown up in a house without windows. Are you here to make money? Or to make your family, or your whole country proud? There are so many different motivations,” he states.

He does not simply declare himself a socialist and a denier of the Right, but he applies it in practice and does not care about glory as he has already rejected two proposals to erect a statue of him. “If on my tombstone it says: ‘he was a good person,’ then I am absolutely satisfied. Success means nothing. Being a good person would be enough…”