JÜRGEN KLOPP

Liverpool FC’s first German manager, Jürgen Klopp arrived at Anfield in October 2015 and changed all of our lives! He turned doubters to believers by building an exciting team that not only played some of the finest football seen on Merseyside, but was also able to compete for - and win - major honours. Born in Stuttgart on 16th June 1967, Klopp led the Reds to the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup in 2019, the Premier League in 2020, the League Cup, FA Cup and FA Community Shield in 2022 and another League Cup in 2024. It continued his record of success having previously won two Bundesliga titles (2011 and 2012), one DFB-Pokal (2012) and one DFL-Supercup (2013) when he was the manager of…

BORUSSIA DORTMUND

Founded in 1909, and based in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e.V. Dortmund are more commonly known as Borussia Dortmund, or simply BVB. The Reds first played them in the 1966 UEFA European Cup Winners’ Cup final at Hampden Park, but the Bill Shankly boys were beaten 2-1 in extra-time in what was Liverpool FC’s first major European final. Borussia Dortmund made their Anfield debuts in 2001/02 for a UEFA Champions League game, Gérard Houllier’s Reds winning 2-0, but more famous was our 2016 UEFA Europa League clash when a late Dejan Lovren header secured a 4-3 comeback win against the club that won the UEFA Champions League in 1997 thanks to two goals from…

KARL-HEINZ RIEDLE

The German international striker netted twice in the first half as Borussia Dortmund beat Juventus FC 3-1 in Munich and two months later, at the age of 31, Riedle signed for Liverpool FC to become the club’s first German-born player. A Bundesliga winner with Werder Bremen in 1988 and BVB in 1994 and 1995, Riedle arrived just as Michael Owen was bursting onto the Anfield scene alongside Robbie Fowler so made 34 of his 76 appearances for LFC from the bench. He scored 15 goals, including a delightful chip for his first Reds goal at Leeds United FC and two in a 4-2 win against Newcastle United FC at Anfield, Riedle made 42 international appearances for West Germany and Germany, was joint-top goalscorer at Euro ‘92 and a World Cup winner at Italia ‘90, but didn’t play in the World Cup final unlike…

DIETMAR HAMANN

It was 12 years later, at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea, when midfielder Hamann became the first Liverpool FC player to appear in a World Cup final since Roger Hunt in 1966. ‘Didi’ was on the losing side, Brazil winning 2-0, but wasn’t lacking in medals having won a League Cup, FA Cup, UEFA Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FA Community Shield with the Reds in 2001. Signed from Newcastle United FC in 1999, Hamann was a defensive midfielder who read the game exceptionally well and had a thunderbolt of a shot that got him some stunning goals in his 283-game LFC career. Brought on as a half-time substitute with the Reds 3-0 down in the 2005 UEFA Champions League final to AC Milan in Istanbul, he was crucial in Liverpool FC’s six-minute comeback and scored in the penalty shoot-out to help LFC lift a fifth European Cup having won a first in 1977 against…

BORUSSIA MÖNCHENGLADBACH

Terry McDermott, Tommy Smith and a Phil Neal penalty gave Liverpool FC a 3-1 success against ‘Gladbach in Rome and an historic first European Cup under the management of Bob Paisley, but it wasn’t the first final the two clubs had met in. In 1973 the Reds faced BMG, a club formed in Prussia in 1900, in the two-legged UEFA Cup final. The first leg at Anfield was abandoned after 27 minutes due to heavy rain, but when the sides met again the following night two goals by Kevin Keegan, a Larry Lloyd header and Ray Clemence’s penalty save gave the Redmen a 3-0 lead. They lost the second leg 2-0 at Bökelbergstadion, but skipper Smith lifted Liverpool FC’s first European trophy on German soil. A unique friendship between the two clubs has long been established with supporters making regular visits to each other’s grounds and two players have appeared for both clubs, Ukrainian Andriy Voronin and Germany’s…

CHRISTIAN ZIEGE

Signed from Middlesbrough FC in 2000 and regarded as one of the best left-backs of his generation having starred for Germany when they won Euro ‘96, things didn’t work out for Christian Ziege at Liverpool FC. His six assists and two goals in 32 appearances was testament to his attacking ability, and he converted in the penalty shoot-out victory against Birmingham City FC in the 2001 League Cup final in Cardiff enroute to winning a treble of trophies, but Ziege had some defensive vulnerabilities that ultimately convinced manager Gérard Houllier to play Jamie Carragher at left-back instead. He was sold to Tottenham Hotspur FC after just 11 months of his Anfield career having previously won Serie A with AC Milan and two Bundesliga titles with his first club…

FC BAYERN MUNICH

Germany’s most successful club with 33 league titles, 20 DFB-Pokals and - like Liverpool FC - six European Cups in their trophy collection, FC Bayern Munich have faced the Reds on nine occasions. Bill Shankly’s side knocked FCB out of the old Inter-City Fairs Cup in 1970/71, Alun Evans scoring an Anfield hat-trick, but Bayern got revenge in 1971/72 with a 3-1 success in the newly-formed UEFA Cup, Gerd Müller netting twice. Two of LFC’s most famous away European displays have been in Munich, Ray Kennendy’s goal sending the Reds to the 1981 European Cup final on away goals and Sadio Mané (2) and Virgil van Dijk securing a 3-1 success at the Allianz Arena in 2020 on the way to the final in Madrid. Mané is one of 11 men to have played for both clubs with others including Xabi Alonso, Thiago, Ryan Gravenberch, Pepe Reina, Xherdan Shaqiri, Philippe Coutinho and…

MARKUS BABBEL

An elegant defender capable of playing at right-back or centre-half, the German international won nine major honours with FCB before signing for Liverpool FC under the Bosman Ruling in the summer of 2000. He was an instant hit. Babbel played in 60 of the Reds’ 63 games in the 2000/01 treble-season, mostly at right-back, and scored six goals including in an 8-0 win at Stoke City FC, an epic 3-2 Merseyside derby success at Goodison Park and the opening goal in the 5-4 UEFA Cup final victory against Deportivo Alavés in Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion. He was also part of the 2001 UEFA Super Cup winning side against former club FC Bayern Munich, but shortly after was diagnosed with the debilitating Guillain-Barré Syndrome that sidelined him for 15 months. Babbel eventually moved into management and in 2012 was at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, where playing in the women’s team was…

ANKE PREUẞ

Currently playing for SV Meppen in her homeland, goalkeeper Anke Preuß was the third and most recent German player to appear for Liverpool FC Women. Signed from Sunderland AFC Women, she played 31 times for the Reds across the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons before moving to Sweden. Prior to Preuß, LFC Women had two German players - Corina Schröder and Nicole Rosler. Known as ‘Coco’, left-back Schröder had previously won two UEFA Women’s Champions Leagues and her success continued on Merseyside as Liverpool FC Women won the WSL in 2013 and 2014. Coco missed just one game across those seasons and also in that side was winger Rosler, who scored 10 goals in 14 games in the 2013 title-winning campaign and remains regarded as one of the best players ever to wear the Red shirt. Rosler is now the general manager at FC Bayern Women and another LFC men’s player to have played in Munich is...

EMRE CAN

Having broken into the FC Bayern Munich II side, Frankfurt-born Emre Can made his first team debut aged 18 in 2012 before moving on to Bayer 04 Leverkusen, the German double-winners currently managed by ex-Red Xabi Alonso, in 2013. He was acquired for Liverpool FC by Brendan Rodgers a year later and in 2015 scored the first goal of the Jürgen Klopp era against FC Rubin Kazan at Anfield. Can made 167 appearances in total for the Redmen with the most famous of his 14 goals being a spectacular overhead-kick in a 1-0 win at Watford FC in May 2017 that was voted as the BBC Match of the Day Goal of the Season. Emre signed for Juventus FC in 2018 before returning to Germany in 2020 with Borussia Dortmund and last season captained BVB to the UEFA Champions League final at Wembley, their first final appearance since 2013 when managed by…

JÜRGEN KLOPP

While he enjoyed huge success during his eight-and-a-half seasons as Liverpool FC manager, Jürgen Klopp only signed two German-born players, both of them in 2016. He returned to former club SV Mainz 05 to buy goalkeeper Loris Karius and, after his contract expired at FC Schalke 04, brought Bochum-born Joël Matip to Anfield. Injury ended Matip’s LFC career prematurely last season, but he won five major honours in his 201 appearances under Klopp and while he scored 11 goals his single assist in the UEFA Champions League will forever be remembered as it teed up Divock Origi to clinch the trophy in Madrid in 2019. As for Klopp, then in addition to all the silverware and joy he brought to Kopites, his win percentage of 62.12% from 491 games is the best of any Liverpool FC manager bar John McKenna’s 69.44% from 30 Second Division games in 1895/96 and was achieved working alongside another German, assistant manager Peter Krawietz. In the words of Jürgen himself, “it’s not so important what people think when you come in, it’s much more important what people think when you leave.” At Anfield he couldn’t be thought of more highly.