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Jurgen Klopp has been named Liverpool Coach of the Year and Liverpool Team of the Year on the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year program.
Coach Klopp and his team were crowned 2019-20 Premier League champions, ending the club’s 30-year wait for a top flight title.
It was Liverpool’s 19th top division title and the first since 1989-90.
The Klopp Reds produced one of the most memorable campaigns in Premier League history, winning by 18 points.
Such was their dominance that at one point they led the table by 25 points, a record gap between a team in first and second place in the English top flight.
That wasn’t the only English top flight record they set – they also posted their first title win, with seven games still to play as Manchester City’s loss to Chelsea sealed their success, and the most consecutive wins in home (24, with seven carried over from the 2018-19 season).
Despite Liverpool’s dominance throughout the season, Reds fans endured a nervous wait to see how it would end after the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic saw the Premier League suspended for three months.
But their comeback in June, albeit without fans, allowed them to crown their success, and they finished the season with 99 points with just three losses to their name, two of which came after sealing the title.
“My team deserves this, because they did an incredible job,” Klopp said. “It’s a mix of talent, character, desire and the power of the club, which is very great. All of that comes together and it was a great moment when we became champions.
“We want to throw a big party when it’s allowed again, it might take a bit of time, but until then maybe we can win something else, we’ll see. We can’t wait to see the fans again and win this award in Manchester is even sweeter “.
German Klopp, 53, came to Anfield in 2015 with Liverpool 10th in the Premier League, but in the five years since then he has led the club to four trophies, including the Champions League title in 2018-19.
Following his success in the Premier League, he was also named the 2019-20 Premier League Season Manager and the League Managers Association Manager of the Year.
On Thursday, Klopp won the FIFA Best Male Coach award for the second year in a row, becoming the first man to win it in successive years.
Liverpool previously won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team in 2001 after their triplet season under Gerard Houllier. who died in early December.
Klopp joins a long list of soccer coaches who have won the Coach of the Year award, including Gareth Southgate (2018), Claudio Ranieri (2016), Arsene Wenger (2002 and 2004) and Sir Alex Ferguson (1999).
