Jamie Carragher believes that Liverpool did not truly believe they were capable of qualifying for the Champions League in the years before Jurgen Klopp’s arrival as manager.
And the former defender has said that Premier League rivals were thinking that their presence at the sharp end of the table was finished during the Roy Hodgson era. Speaking in a new five-part documentary charting the rise of Klopp which was released on Tuesday morning, Carragher said that the Reds were no longer seen as a threat - even if their fortunes took an upturn during Brendan Rodgers’ time in charge.
“We were a club who started every season hoping to get into the top four but not really believing it and most people in football, certainly our rivals, felt like we were done,” Carragher says. “I really believe that. Financially, we couldn't compete with the other teams. I don't think anyone saw us as a threat at all, really.”
The series, made by The Anfield Wrap in association with ERDINGER, also features contributions from Anfield legend Kenny Dalglish and former midfielder Adam Lallana. The documentary’s makers visited Klopp’s former clubs, including Mainz and Borussia Dortmund, and spoke to one of his coaches as a lower league player, Ramon Berndroth, to explore his rise as one of the game’s brightest managers.
Klopp arrived at Liverpool in October 2015 following a brief break after leaving Dortmund, whom he guided to regular success up against German giants Bayern Munich. When he was unveiled at Anfield, he declared: "We have to change from doubters to believers. Now."
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While Lallana reflects in the documentary that such changes were immediately noticeable on the training ground, Carragher considers it as a period where the club needed a hard reset. The Brighton playmaker says: "At the time, Liverpool needed a real energetic manager where his life and soul would be put into Liverpool Football Club.
"It wasn't a case of coming in and buying three or four players and everything would be alright. This was a proper reset for the club, it felt like a really big moment and it felt like it needed a manager with that passion and energy."
Klopp has won six major trophies at Liverpool, including a first Premier League title and a Champions League. In May, he signed a contract extension to extend his stay at the club until the summer of 2026.
The first episode can be streamed here.
