Analysis: Klopp's first-ever Liverpool line-up: Where are they now? - Infopalavanews

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Tuesday, 5 July 2022

Analysis: Klopp's first-ever Liverpool line-up: Where are they now?

 


Jurgen Klopp is the most successful Liverpool manager of the 21st century, having won six trophies with the Reds so far, including a Champions League and Premier League.


It's a remarkable record when one considers the club was in crisis when the German took over seven years ago, shortly after Brendan Rodgers had been sacked.


Indeed, one look at the starting line-up for Klopp's first match, at Tottenham Hotspur on October 17, 2015, shows just how far Liverpool have come since his arrival at Anfield.


So, which players featured in that 0-0 draw in north London, and where are they now?


GK: Simon Mignolet

The Belgian goalkeeper joined Liverpool from Sunderland in 2013 and played for the club for six seasons, even lifting the Champions League trophy in 2018-19.


He then joined Belgian top-tier side Club Brugge in 2019 and continues to ply his trade at the Jan Breydel Stadium, having won the league title three times in a row.


Meanwhile, Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson is the man between the sticks at Liverpool these days and it's probably fair to say Klopp got himself a decent upgrade!


RB: Nathaniel Clyne

A Crystal Palace youth product, Nathaniel Clyne made his professional debut for the club in 2008 and spent four seasons at Selhurst Park.


He then played at Southampton for three years before earning himself a move to Liverpool in 2015.


He made an encouraging start to his Anfield career, as he instantly became their first-choice right-back, but a back injury halted his progress, leading to him losing his starting spot.


Clyne spent time on loan at Bournemouth in 2019 before eventually returning to Palace in 2020.


Klopp's first choice at right-back nowadays? A certain Trent Alexander-Arnold...


CB: Martin Skrtel

The Slovakia international played at Liverpool for eight seasons – from 2008 to 2016 – and became a bit of a cult hero at Anfield due to his heroics at the back.


After leaving the Reds, he moved about, joining Fenerbahce, Atalanta and Istanbul Basaksehir, before signing for Spartak Trnava in 2021 to wind down his career in his home country.


Skrtel was very much the Virgil van Dijk of a previous era, although not quite at the same level obviously. Then again, who is?


CB: Mamadou Sakho

The French defender was widely regarded as one of the rising stars of French football in his younger years and joined Liverpool from PSG in 2013.


He was never really an undisputed starter at Anfield but sure knew how to make headlines.


There was a clash with Brendan Rodgers after he was benched for the Merseyside derby against Everton, an infamous doping case which he eventually won, thus completely clearing his name, before a bit of rule-breaking under Klopp.


All this eventually led to his departure to Crystal Place but he eventually moved back to France, joining Montpellier in 2021. 


An interesting character for sure, but not quite a Liverpool legend!


LB: Alberto Moreno

He wasn't quite Andy Robertson, but the Spanish defender still lasted five seasons at Liverpool after joining from Sevilla in 2014.


After saying farewell to Anfield, Moreno went on to win the Europa League with Villarreal and the left-back remains a big Reds fan.


Consequently, while not exactly one of the greatest players to have won the Liverpool jersey, he is fondly remembered by supporters.


CM: Lucas Leiva

The Brazilian is one of those players who always went under the radar somewhat and a lot of people will be surprised to find out he played at Liverpool for 10 seasons, from 2007 to 2017.


Not the most spectacular player (maybe even an understatement!) but massively important to any team.


After leaving the Reds, he moved to Italy and joined Lazio, where he won the club's Player of the Season award in 2018-19.


His successor at Liverpool was another Brazilian, Fabinho, who has since proven himself one of the very best in the world in his position.


CM: Emre Can

The German midfielder was widely regarded as one of Bayern Munich's biggest talents during his time with the Bavarians' youth academy, but he left the club for Bayer Leverkusen early in his career in an attempt to secure regular first-team action elsewhere.


This move quickly paid off as he earned himself a move to Liverpool in 2014 after just one year at the BayArena.


He spent four seasons at Anfield before joining Juventus on a free transfer in 2018 and then returned to his native country in 2019-20 to link up with Borussia Dortmund


Can probably didn't quite live up to expectations, but still enjoyed a decent enough career at Liverpool.


RW: James Milner

The former England international joined Liverpool in 2015 from Manchester City, having previously played for Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Leeds United.


Milner has since proven to be a major asset for Klopp because of his professionalism and versatility, appearing in more or less every single position except goalkeeper.


Given he is also immensely popular with his team-mates and the club's fans, it will be a sad day when he eventually decides to call time on his career at Anfield.


Until then, though, let's just continue enjoying the incredible endeavour of a true role model.


ACM: Adam Lallana

Lallana had joined Liverpool in 2014 from Southampton after a number of impressive performances for the Saints and quickly became an important first-team player on Merseyside.


But after three decent seasons, the creative midfielder had to battle multiple injuries and he was never really able to re-live his previous highs after returning to the pitch.


In 2020, he moved to Brighton, where he continues to be a useful Premier League player.


LW: Philippe Coutinho

The attacking midfielder was one of the few world-class players already at the club when Klopp came through the door and he probably would still be there if it hadn't been for Coutinho's Barcelona obsession.


The Brazil star found himself top of the Catalans' shortlist following the departure of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain and angered both fans and club officials at Anfield as he pushed for a move to Catalunya.


He eventually got what he wanted in January 2018, with Liverpool eventually agreed to sell Coutinho for a club-record £142 million ($167m), but it's fair to say his dream transfer to Camp Nou didn't quite go according to plan.


He struggled to find his feet at Barca and was sent on a season-long loan to Bayern Munich ahead of the 2019-20 campaign.


In January 2022, the Brazilian joined Premier League side Aston Villa on loan, with the move being made permanent at the end of the season.


CF: Divock Origi

The Belgian was never really an undisputed starter, but still left Liverpool at the end of the 2021-22 season for AC Milan as an absolute club legend.


The reason? "Corner taken quickly!"


Origi played a massive role in Liverpool's heroic Champions League comeback against Barcelona that eventually saw them lift the trophy, with the Belgian scoring again in the final, and his contribution will never be forgotten by the club's fans.


In fairness, Origi always had a knack for scoring important goals, such as in the Merseyside derby versus Everton.


But despite his tendency to come to the fore in big games, he generally had to settle for a role behind Roberto Firmino as Liverpool's back-up striker.


Still, though, big-money signing Darwin Nunez knows that he has big boots to fill in a weird way.


Sub: Joe Allen

Liverpool had high hopes that Allen would become one of the league's leading midfielders when they landed him from Swansea in August 2012 and he put in some encouraging performances early on in his Reds career.


Yet as Liverpool continued to build a team that could compete for trophies, it became apparent that 'The Welsh Pirlo' was not quite at the required standard.


He was slowly phased out and eventually moved to Stoke City, where he has thrived ever since.


Sub: Jordon Ibe

The English forward was once regarded as the future of English football and Liverpool felt they had pulled off quite the coup when they landed him from Wycombe Wanderers in 2012.


That didn't quite turn out to be the case.


Ibe spent a total of four seasons at the club before he joined Bournemouth, having previously taken in two loan spells at Birmingham City and Derby County.


In January 2022, the attacker joined Turkish second division side Adanaspor.


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