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Jurgen Klopp caricature can be easy to draw.
The heavy metal rock star with the megawatt smile has lit Anfield for the past five years, making Premier League Liverpool one of the best on the continent at the time.
Such is the Reds manager’s seemingly relentless commitment to the positive that he has even mocked his image in the recent revival of the satirical puppet show, Spitting Image.
Klopp is comical as someone who finds the good in everything that happens to him, from Everton fans throwing bricks through his window to sticks of dynamite exploding in his living room.
He even found reasons to be joyous after Liverpool’s toughest loss in 57 years, according to his Spitting Image character.
“I can’t sleep,” says an animated Klopp in one scene. “I’m thinking about all the positives from our unprecedented 7-2 loss to Aston Villa.
“You know how many injuries we’re getting from the game? Zero! I’m very, very proud of the guys.”
And while it might be easy to characterize the Liverpool manager as inflexible in the face of setbacks, the reality may be very different.
Anyone who’s spent time in Klopp’s company will say the same, his personable personality and warmth are genuine, but fools don’t suffer and there’s a side you wouldn’t want to see too often.
So it was no surprise to hear his answer to a question about Mohamed Salah after the recent 2-2 draw with Everton in the Merseyside derby.
The ‘Egyptian king’ had just scored his 100th goal for Liverpool in stunning fashion half an hour earlier, but Klopp had no time to offer trivia to his leading free-scorer.
Klopp had his mood clouded by a controversial last minute call from the VAR and, more pertinently, by the possible injury to Virgil van Dijk that could end the season.
“I hope you find something in your notes about how often I said how good Mo Salah and all the other guys are,” Klopp said.
“The goal is great, but I’m not in the mood to talk about it right now.
“The numbers are crazy, but even Mo doesn’t want to talk about it right now.”
Since seeing the lynchpin of his defense, a man many champions as the best in the world in Van Dijk, limping off the scene, Klopp has only made his problems worse.
Joel Matip’s inability to prove himself as a long-term available center-back meant that Fabinho was forced to continue to replace his teammate alongside Joe Gomez at the rear.
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A hamstring injury sustained in Tuesday night’s 2-0 win over Midtjylland was very unpleasant.
“It’s exactly the last thing we needed,” Klopp would later admit.
The Brazilian midfielder, who has shone in a new role in the early stages of the season, became the latest entrant in an increasingly crowded treatment room.
With Van Dijk and Matip already on the shelf, Fabinho was joined by players like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kostas Tsimikas, Thiago Alcantara and Naby Keita as absent.
Only the prayers and hard work of Alisson Becker saved his goalkeeper from a similar fate with his own shoulder injury.
A month of punishment, at times, has left the Liverpool manager with a frustrated and besieged figure, but the most important thing is that the results have not receded.
The anomaly at Villa Park aside, the champions have battled their misfortune, with three consecutive victories taking them to the top of the tables in both the Premier League and the Champions League since the draw at Goodison Park.
At times, Klopp has used hyperbole to convey the difficulty of the situation he and his rivals face during this condensed season like no other.
“Now [missing] a week means three games, 10 days means four, 14 days means seven games and all these kinds of things, that’s how it is, “he said this week.
Almost every week, the Reds boss has grown more frustrated and even angry in his dealings with the media, greeting some questions with disdain and dismay.
Saturday’s game at West Ham is the start of a difficult period that could bring Klopp’s already depleted resources to breaking point.
Between October 31 and December 1, the Reds play seven times, a remarkably high number given that a two-week international break is inserted in mid-November.
Between December 5 and January 2, eight more will have to be negotiated before the third round of the FA Cup approaches days later.
Rest, recovery, and recovery will become the most treasured commodities for the weeks and months to come as Klopp seeks to juggle the best options available to him through lengthy discussions with his medical department.
“We’ll see how it will end, but it sure is the most challenging season ever,” Klopp admitted on Friday.
Liverpool’s sports science team and their physical therapists will have to work more magic than ever as the champions continue to pit all stakeholders against each other.
And given the breakneck speed at which this Premier League season continues, the importance of those behind the scenes will become more important as the last man standing in the competition goes through the gears.
So no, Klopp is definitely not in the mood right now to laugh out loud in the gallery. Skits and gaffes should receive little attention.
But channeled correctly, such fury and disdain could give Liverpool an additional weapon this season.
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