Tale of two managers as Klopp faces Van Gaal

Goal

Tale of two managers as Klopp faces Van Gaal - Jurgen Klopp’s guffaw is so powerful, it fills Melwood a few times over. You can often hear him long before he enters the media room, and his aura resonates long afterwards. His press conferences can run for half an hour, but only feel like half a minute as his effervescence fizzes around place like a Berocca capsule.

He lives in the moment; this is no show, there are no rehearsals. On a matchday, you’re invited to his all-action world, with piercing whistles, the spitting-mad shouting of instructions, the firm beating of his chest as well as the fist pump-run-and-leap routine.

Jurgen Klopp’s guffaw is so powerful, it fills Melwood a few times over. You can often hear him long before he enters the media room, and his aura resonates long afterwards. His press conferences can run for half an hour, but only feel like half a minute as his effervescence fizzes around place like a Berocca capsule.

He lives in the moment; this is no show, there are no rehearsals. On a matchday, you’re invited to his all-action world, with piercing whistles, the spitting-mad shouting of instructions, the firm beating of his chest as well as the fist pump-run-and-leap routine.

Louis van Gaal’s press conferences should come with a time-lapse function. It is joyless, a chore. He wears a sullen face as though it is a second skin. Every answer either seems pre-planned, or carefully constructed. The dugout does not draw animation from the manager either. He sits, with his uniform expression, and scribbles away. He doubts those who scream from the touchline “have real influence.” There is no welcome mat to enter his world, it is walled off.

Their contrasting personalities are translated to the styles they swear by too: Klopp wants “wild football,” to press the life out of opponents and punish them with swift transitions. Van Gaal preaches a controlled game, where keeping the ball is paramount.

The German likes mistakes and appreciates risk as it points to bravery. The Dutchman detests gambles and operating outside the margins. Klopp is “a fan” who wants to “play the kind of football people want to talk about,” while Van Gaal is the analyst who prioritises the end game over entertainment.



For all their differences though, Sunday’s encounter between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield will also highlight their similarities. As Klopp stated, he may be the antithesis to his counterpart, but they are both winners. And they both want to triumph without having to compromise their fundamental beliefs about how football should be played. Both are thick-skinned and fiery, albeit in contrasting ways.

Klopp has taken charge of 21 games in his first 100 days as Liverpool boss, with 10 wins, seven draws and four defeats. Van Gaal’s record is exactly the same for his opening 21 in the United hotseat. The former Borussia Dortmund trainer did, however, move to Merseyside in the middle of a campaign, without the benefit of a pre-season or a summer transfer window to nip and tuck his side. Van Gaal, meanwhile, altered United’s US tour last year to better suit his training requirements and recruited two Galacticos in Angel di Maria and Radamel Falcao as he spent in excess of £150m.

The Red Devils are three points and three positions ahead of the Merseysiders in the Premier League table, having scored more goals and conceded less. Yet while Klopp is celebrated by his side’s fans, his counterpart is derided by the United faithful. "You can see his hand and as a manager that is very important,” the 64-year-old said of Klopp’s tenure in English football thus far. Van Gaal’s touch on the Old Trafford side is evident too, but it is only the Liverpool supporters who like what they see.

What of the players? Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney approached the former Netherlands boss to complain about a flat dressing room. The side seem scared of colouring outside the lines and engaging in the fearless football United were famed for. Roberto Firmino revealed how Klopp makes the players feel taller, feel stronger. Liverpool’s squad have been encouraged to throw fire to the wind, to make sure that for 90 minutes they help “make the supporters' lives better.”

There is a school of thought that managers should be an extension of their club’s identity: Liverpool have always been different, standing out, being in your face and bold. If the cap fits, Klopp is most certainly wearing it. Their old enemy down the M62 exists to be feared, to be hated, to bully teams by the mere mention of their name, to win in the most authoritative of ways. United fans as well as ex-players are struggling to see any of those elements in Van Gaal.  "He doesn't dominate,” as Johann Cruyff noted. United definitely want to dominate.