Jurgen Klopp’s record in cup finals

Long before Jurgen Klopp announced his shock decision to step down as Liverpool manager in the summer of 2024, the German head coach was already pondering his side’s legacy.

“In 20 years if you talk about this team,” Klopp mused, “I would not be surprised if people would say: ‘Yes they were good but they should have won more’.”

Liverpool would certainly have another couple of Premier League trophies had it not been for a record-shattering Manchester City but Pep Guardiola’s side cannot be solely to blame for the size of Klopp’s trophy cabinet.

Here’s a look at Klopp’s decidedly mixed record in finals over the years.

Klopp took a glum view to Germany’s traditional curtain raiser, the DFL-Supercup. “You win it, nobody cares; you lose it and some care,” the former Borussia Dortmund manager once shrugged.

It may not have counted for much in Klopp’s eyes, but the Supercup was the setting for the start of his legendary rivalry against Guardiola.

Bayern Munich’s new manager commanded all of the pre-match spotlight but it was a ruthless counterattacking masterclass engineered by Klopp that earned Dortmund a heartily deserved 4-2 victory in 2013. When the German giants faced off the following year, Dortmund prevailed again. Yet, success in this competition doesn’t leave lasting memories for Klopp. “I won it twice but nobody mentions it,” he’s sighed in the past.

After his first appearance (and defeat) in the Community Shield, Klopp was left perplexed by the perceived importance of the competition in England.

“Is it a pre-season friendly?” he asked. On a separate occasion, Klopp posed a question many fans have asked: “If it means nothing, why play?”

Klopp has not lost any of his three appearances in the quasi-friendly during normal time, besting Manchester City in 2022 after consecutive shootout defeats to City and Arsenal.