Klopp: Bring The Noise by Raphael Honigstein

Sometimes it can be difficult for a biography to work without too much of a contribution from the main subject (Jurgen Klopp in this instance).

Yet when the author is a fine sports journalist like Raphael Honigstein then you get a well rounded story and you still manage to learn much more about that subject.

Rafa obviously took a lot of time to research the life of Jurgen Klopp and gather insightful stories from first hand sources like teammates, employers and family members.

I particularly appreciate the fact that Honigstein doesn’t solely concentrate all his efforts on Klopp’s time at Liverpool, the book covers up until Liverpool’s Champions League triumph in 2019.

To get a better image of Jurgen Klopp the manager you need to find out more about his family environment, his time as a player, his time as manager of Mainz 05, making it as a TV pundit and then his job at Borussia Dortmund. We get all that from this book.

His time at Mainz 05 is really the era that shaped Klopp as a gaffer and as a person, those parts of the story are the most enlightening in my opinion. Raphael described this period with such texture and with so much detail, I came away from those chapters itching to go to the Rhineland-Palatinate, visiting the carnival city and the Opel Arena!

When you know more about a football manager’s history, then the more you can understand his present. Looking at Klopp’s history at both Mainz and Dortmund you’ll notice that dips happen but he doesn’t panic or shy away from them. That’s currently happening at Anfield at the moment. That should make things better for The Reds in the long run as he’ll no doubt get things right again.

Watching Jurgen Klopp on our television sets and you believe that he’s a good man. Reading this book you know he’s a good man. Not many managers get the respect he does from fans, players and administrators alike. His attention to all those around him, not just with his players, is sensational.

The Germans have lots of stereotypes like being direct and being methodical. You get both of those traits in this book and that’s what makes it special. Honigstein keeps to the point of Klopp, which is want you want as a reader. He gets quotes from various sources and will mention them all.

His hard work pays off as this book is extremely interesting and as well as shining a light on Jurgen Klopp’s enthusiasm for football, it also shows us that the author also loves the game and that’s why he did so much research into this project.

It was definitely worth it Raphael!

A top quality look at one of the world’s best football managers.

Available online at Waterstones

Posted on February 26th, 2021 by scott
Filed under: Article, Book Review