Jürgen Klopp’s history of cup final heartache

Jürgen Klopp’s history of cup final heartache

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During his short time at the helm of Liverpool, Jürgen Klopp has won the red half of Merseyside over with his charm and wit, restoring a renowned on-field swagger.

In what is an interesting sub-plot, the German manager will be eager to improve his disappointing 1-4 record in cup finals with Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool combined.

After a Capital One Cup final loss in February, a chance at redemption and then some awaits in the Europa League final against reigning champions Sevilla on Thursday night.

A recap of Klopp’s history in cup finals is detailed in chronological order below.

2012 – Borussia Dortmund 5-2 Bayern Munich – DFB Pokal

Klopp’s first cup final was his most memorable to date. A 5-2 humiliation of Bayern Munich set the tone for his time at the club, as Robert Lewandowski notched a second half hat-trick after Shinji Kagawa and Mats Hummels put Borussia Dortmund 2-1 ahead.

An fearsome unpredictability in attack – something Klopp has begun to instil at Liverpool – was too much for Jupp Heynckes’ star-studded outfit. While Kroos was bright for Bayern, the likes of David Alaba, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Franck Ribery were relatively anonymous, while Dortmund’s Kagawa, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Ilkay Gundogan ran riot, creating a platform for Lewandowski to flourish.


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2013 – Borussia Dortmund 1-2 Bayern Munich – UEFA Champions League

Gundogan restored parity after Mario Mandzukic had put Bayern ahead on the hour mark, Arjen Robben’s 89th-minute winner saw the Bavarians crowned European champions for the fifth time. The loss was compounded Mario Götze’s departure to Munich after missing out on the final due to an injury sustained in the semi final against Real Madrid.

2014 – Borussia Dortmund 0-2 Bayern Munich – DFB Pokal

This 2-0 extra time loss was immediately followed by Lewandowski’s departure in the January window, like Götze before him, to Bayern. The Poland captain started the match but failed to flatter, as Arjen Robben and Thomas Muller scored in the 107th and 123rd minute respectively to break Dortmund hearts.

2015 – Borussia Dortmund 1-3 Wolfsburg – DFB Pokal

This was going to be the one. Dortmund’s poor recent record in finals- albeit against a true behemoth of world football was going to end after reaching the last hurdle the hard way in comparison to Dieter Hecking’s side.

In the stages prior, Dortmund came from a goal down to defeat Hoffenheim 3-2 in extra time before advancing to the final by way of a penalty shootout against Bayern Munich. However, a fresh-looking Wolfsburg cancelled out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s opener to comprehensively win 3-1, getting revenge for a semi final exit at the hands of Dortmund a year prior to lift the cup for the first time.

Three first half replies from Wolfsburg’s Luis Gustavo, Kevin De Bruyne and Bas Dost floored Klopp’s men, who could not find a riposte.

Marco Reus was shackled by the impressive Vieirinha, while Dortmund’s central defenders Erik Durm and Neven Subotic were terrorised by Daniel Caligiuri and the aforementioned De Bruyne, as Klopp’s seven years of service were denied a fairytale ending.

2016 – Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City (1-3 on penalties) – Capital One Cup

City’s stand-in goalkeeper Willy Caballero was the hero of the penalty shootout win, as Klopp’s cursed record continued. As was the case in arguably each of Klopp’s cup finals that preceded it, his team did not come into the match as favourites.

An error from Simon Mignolet led to Fernandinho’s opener, but was cancelled out by fellow Brazilian Philippe Coutinho’s smart finish to force the match to extra time.

A winner was to be decided on penalties, with Coutinho and Fernandinho missing from the spot. Luckily for City, Fernandinho was the only member of his team to misfire, while Liverpool duo Lucas Leiva and Adam Lallana had their efforts saved by Caballero.

2016 – Liverpool vs Sevilla – Europa League

There’s something about Liverpool and European nights that evoke a range of varying emotions. It’s a nod to former glories most other clubs can only look upon with envy, and these matches seldom fail to bring out the best from the Reds.

Now, the question is whether Klopp can turn a promising maiden campaign into a dream one, and dispel an array of personal demons in the process.

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