Man City appoint coach 'not like Jurgen Klopp' despite comparisons

Jurgen Klopp might have left Liverpool but he will cast a long shadow. It will extend beyond the walls of Anfield and the AXA Training Centre too.

Just ask Arne Slot. The first question he was asked in his inaugural Liverpool press conference was inevitably about his illustrious predecessor. While Klopp will obviously not be brought up every time the Reds’ new head coach has a media duty to fulfil, he is the man Slot will be measured against for a very long time.

And the German will cast something of a shadow across the whole of the Premier League, such was his impact in English football. It has been reported by Manchester Evening News that Manchester City is in the process of appointing a new coach to its academy, and even he is being compared to Klopp.

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There is a reshuffle occurring in the sky blue half of Manchester City at youth team level. Brian Barry-Murphy has left, with Ben Wilkinson replacing him in the top coaching job in the academy. Wilkinson has proved his mettle by winning the under-18 Premier League and FA Youth Cup.

He in turn is expected to be replaced by Oliver Reiss, a 41-year-old German who was manager of Hertha Berlin’s under-19 side until this summer. Reiss had held various youth team roles at the club since way back in 2007.

Success at that level is measured by players making the grade for the first team. Even so, a record of 71 wins from 102 matches (per Transfermarkt) certainly looks impressive.

Without an in-depth knowledge of German youth team football – apologies – it’s hard to identify any potential stars with whom Reiss has worked. Pascal Klemens and Ibrahima Maza have the highest market value, per Transfermarkt, and both played for Hertha Berlin in 2. Bundesliga in 2023/24.

However, the report states that Wilkinson is more Guardiola than he is Klopp, putting a halt to those comparisons. Though, any comparison with Guardiola is a positive one it should be said.

Liverpool.com says: It sounds like City’s young players are going to get a good sense of what life under Guardiola might be like if Reiss is appointed. Is the story being a little hard on Klopp’s tactical acumen though? He has a 12-11 win-loss record against Guardiola despite always facing him with less expensively assembled sides. Maybe Pep should try being a bit more empathetic instead, eh?