Former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp is widely regarded as one of the most iconic soccer coaches of the modern era. And now, the 58-year-old German has named four individuals on his Mount Rushmore of managers.
Which four managers did the former Borussia Dortmund and FSV Mainz boss name?
Klopp Mentions Coaches of Liverpool’s Two Rival Clubs
Ahead of The Best FIFA Awards ceremony in Doha, Qatar, earlier on Tuesday, Dec. 16, Klopp put forward his picks for the best managers ever. He also revealed two special mentions on his recent Instagram post.
“This is my Mount Rushmore of football coaches, and actually, four is really difficult to do, but I will try anyway. Johan Cruyff, (the) most influential football coach I have ever heard of. The way he saw football, the way he understood football, is just second to none. Pep Guardiola, you could say exactly the same about him, and I faced him, and I know how difficult it was,” Klopp began by saying.
Klopp, who helped Liverpool end a 30-year-long league title drought in 2020, added, “And now, it becomes really tricky. Let’s go to the most successful (manager of all time), and a guy I really like as well, is Sir Alex Ferguson. And now, I barely can decide. There is Carlo Ancelotti in my mind, obviously. Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, I heard so much about them, never saw them. But yes, I want to see Bill Shankly on the Mount Rushmore. That’s it.”
Klopp, who has been Red Bull GmbH’s Head of Global Soccer since January 2025, relished a great nine-year-long spell at Liverpool. He transformed the club into a title-challenging side and guided them to eight trophies, including one UEFA Champions League trophy.
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Former Liverpool Star Issues Premier League Title Warning
So far this season, Liverpool have struggled to replicate last season’s Premier League title-winning form. They are currently seventh in the 2025-26 league table with 26 points from 16 matches, having already lost six games.
However, ex-Liverpool forward Michael Owen feels that the Merseyside outfit could emerge as a Premier League title-contending team in the second half of the ongoing campaign.
“This is a team that aren’t going to go away and are going to be title contenders for the next five years. As much as they’re not playing very well, you’ve still got to be fearful of Liverpool. They have beaten Arsenal, Aston Villa and have gone away in Europe and are doing well in the Champions League,” Owen said (via Metro).
Liverpool will visit Tottenham Hotspur in their next league contest on Saturday, Dec. 20.
