Jürgen Klopp was well-known for working his players hard in training, but they were far from the only ones who had to put a lot of graft in during his time as Liverpool FC manager. The crew responsible for updating The Champions Wall were doing overtime! But The Champions Wall at Anfield wasn’t even there when Klopp took over as LFC boss.

It was in the summer of 2015, when Brendan Rodgers was the Liverpool FC manager, that the original Champions Wall was installed in the reception area at Melwood as part of a revamp of the training complex. Located immediately after the front door and built with finest wood on Merseyside, it had a bench underneath where visitors waited to be seen and journalists used to conduct interviews with players.

Above them were 44 major honours, cut out in silhouettes of the trophies with the number of each one won beneath them: 18 League Titles. 5 European Cups. 7 FA Cups. 3 UEFA Cups. 8 League Cups. 3 UEFA Super Cups. Every major trophy won by Liverpool Football Club since lifting a maiden Division One title all the way back in 1901.

But what would the players think of this new installation? Liverpool FC hadn’t won a trophy since the League Cup in 2012, so would it make them feel under more pressure to deliver silverware given the weight of expectations? Or would it inspire them to add further honours to the wall?

James Milner answered that question. “You walk into Melwood every day and you see the trophies the club has won every single day,” said the former vice-captain, who signed for LFC in the same summer that The Champions Wall was constructed. “I was desperate to get a trophy for this club.”

So it proved a source of motivation and in October 2015 Klopp took over as Liverpool FC manager. It seemed like the first updates might be needed when he guided the Reds to the League Cup final and the UEFA Europa League final in 2016, but defeats to Manchester City FC at Wembley and Sevilla FC in Basel meant a makeover after just 12 months wasn’t required.

Klopp’s Reds also lost the 2018 UEFA Champions League final to Real Madrid CF in Kyiv, but like buses up to Anfield you wait for ages for one and then three come along at once. Liverpool FC won the UEFA Champions League in June 2019, the UEFA Super Cup in August 2019 and the FIFA Club World Cup in December 2019. The Champions Wall needed multiple updates.

The 1-0 success against Flamengo CR in Qatar, courtesy of a Bobby Firmino winner, was particularly significant as it meant a new trophy needed adding to The Champions Wall. Liverpool FC had never been FIFA Club World Champions before so it wasn’t only the Melwood Christmas tree that needed decorating! A third upgrade of 2019 was completed and another wasn’t far away.

Liverpool FC won the Premier League title in 2020 with seven games to spare. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the coronation, but in July captain Jordan Henderson lifted LFC’s 19th league title on The Kop. It was the first league title the Reds had won since the top-flight was rebranded and so another new trophy was added to The Champions Wall. A silhouette of the Premier League trophy was placed next to the Football League trophy above the number 19. What a beautiful sight.

By now, Liverpool FC’s planned move away from Melwood to the AXA Training Centre was getting ever-closer and while a new version of The Champions Wall was installed on a wall close to the entrance at the new training complex, the Club also decided to create a Champions Wall at Anfield.

There was already a Walk Of Champions inside the stadium on a corridor the players walk down to access the dressing-rooms in the new Main Stand, but The Champions Wall was to be installed outside Anfield. It was added to the side of the flagship LFC Retail Store, which opened in 2017, and there was also an opportunity for supporters to get involved.

Beneath the trophy collection is a photomosaic ​​compiled of fan photos that depicts some of LFC’s historic triumphs, such as Sir Kenny Dalglish celebrating a league title with coaches Ronnie Moran and Roy Evans. There’s Steven Gerrard and Jürgen Klopp lifting the European Cup, Jordan Henderson hoisting the Premier League trophy aloft, Sami Hyypiä raising the UEFA Cup and Emlyn Hughes and Ray Clemence with the FA Cup.

Anfield’s Champions Wall, featuring this unique mural of over 12,000 photos, has been in place since August 2021 and has needed three updates since! A ninth League Cup and eighth FA Cup had to be added in 2022, and then last season - following Virgil van Dijk’s extra-time winner against Chelsea FC at Wembley in February 2024 - a record 10th League Cup became the most recent upgrade.

It means an English record 51 major honours are currently displayed on Liverpool FC’s Champions Wall - more trophies than any other club - and the only piece of silverware that didn’t need updating during the Jürgen Klopp era was the UEFA Cup.

In total, Klopp added seven major honours to The Champions Wall, one more than Bill Shankly and Sir Kenny Dalglish (6 each), with only Bob Paisley (14) bringing more silverware to Anfield. Gérard Houllier (5), Joe Fagan and Rafael Benítez (3 each), Tom Watson (2) plus David Ashworth, George Kay, Matt McQueen, Graeme Souness and Roy Evans (1 each) complete the managerial honours list.

On the final day of the 2023/24 season, after the Reds beat Wolverhampton Wanderers FC 2-0 at Anfield, departing players Joël Matip and Thiago, plus staff members such as Pep Lijnders and Peter Krawietz, were presented with replicas of The Champions Wall - a now traditional leaving gift for those responsible for adding to it. Klopp, however, didn’t get one!

Instead he received hand-sewn pennants marking each of his successes as Liverpool FC manager and replicas of each of the major trophies he won with ‘So much more than the normal one, you made us believe’ inscribed underneath.

Like those who won silverware before him, Jürgen Klopp’s legacy will forever remain upon The Champions Wall at Anfield.