Rafa Benitez's rock solid Liverpool seem a distant memory now Jurgen Klopp has loosened things up at Anfield

Rafa Benitez will recognise the red shirts on Sunday. He will remember some of the choruses, particularly if the visitors break into a chant of his name, to the tune of ‘La Bamba’, a staple of their songbook for six years which may be revived as a tribute to their last Champions League-winning manager.

Yet if he is feeling nostalgic, it may be harder to transport him back to old times. The Newcastle manager will see his side face Liverpool, but not Liverpool as he knew them. In some ways, Jurgen Klopp has assembled a side that is the opposite of his teams. Indeed, the exuberant, ever quotable, rake-thin German can seem the antithesis of the stolid Spaniard. Klopp is expressive, excitable, emotional. Benitez prefers to conceal his thoughts and feelings in public, restricting himself to set phrases.

Their personas may be reflected by their teams. Klopp’s Liverpool are more upbeat. Their trademark pressing game means they take the initiative. They play on the front foot, seeking to impose themselves on the opposition. He is the inveterate attacker. Benitez was the cautious counter-attacker. His Liverpool were more watchful. They played on the back foot, with a low block, rather than the high defensive line a successor prefers.

At their best, they were cold and clinical. Benitez’s relationship with his captain, Steven Gerrard said in his autobiography, was “distant and emotionless.” Klopp is motivator and man-manager who relies on his bond with his players. Rather than cancelling Liverpool’s Christmas party after a dismal display in a 3-0 defeat to Watford in December 2015, he insisted it went ahead and that everyone stayed until 1am.

He celebrated after a defeat; Benitez can seem so preoccupied by imperfections that he struggles to enjoy wins. The paradox of his reign at Anfield was that his two trophies came after 3-3 draws, a manager who prized control presiding over the sort of anarchic affairs that are more frequent in Klopp’s management. Yet it is notable that Benitez won finals in his first two seasons, securing the Champions League in 2005 and the FA Cup 12 months later. Klopp reached the League Cup and Europa League finals in his debut campaign, but won neither.

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It highlights a difference. It can feel that the ends justify the means with Benitez. With Klopp, it can be about the journey as much as the destination. Every match feels an event. Most come with a hint of an unpredictability that was rarely apparent in Benitez’s tenure.

The numbers illustrate how. After six league games, Liverpool have conceded six goals more than Newcastle and 92 in 74 top-flight matches under Klopp. The four-season spell at the heart of Benitez’s reign when they only conceded 107 goals in 152 league fixtures feels another era; but so, given that Klopp’s side mustered 77 league goals last season, did the three-year period under Benitez when Liverpool averaged 55.

The scorelines illustrate the types of players they preferred. Benitez usually fielded two defensive midfielders, preferring to play Gerrard on the right or as a No. 10. One criticism of Klopp is that he does not have any specialists; it is a harsh interpretation of Jordan Henderson’s efforts, but the captain tended to be deployed in more advanced roles until the German’s arrivals.

He can pick full-backs who were midfielders by trade, in James Milner and Trent Alexander-Arnold. Some of Benitez’s choices in those positions, whether Djimi Traore or Alvaro Arbeloa, were defiantly defensive. He left a Liverpool team that was increasingly reliant on one centre-forward, Fernando Torres, whereas Klopp has dispensed with an out-and-out striker altogether.

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Moreover, he is not trying to sign another. They have different attitudes towards money. Benitez, perhaps reflecting a seeming distrust of owners, tends to spend all available funds. Klopp has shown he is willing not to spend – not on anyone in either January in charge, not on a centre-back this summer – if he cannot land his preferred targets. In comparison, too many of Benitez’s Liverpool buys fell into the category of compromise choices and, unlike first-choice recruits such as Torres, Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano, too few of them succeeded.

Jurgen Klopp’s positivity is reflected in his side’s football, while Benitez can be more cautious.That may contribute to the more harmonious relationship Klopp enjoys with his employers, even if it was harder for Benitez to replicate that as Tom Hicks and George Gillett’s regime unravelled. Liverpool’s future is more secure now, perhaps a reason why Klopp, in showing more faith in youth than his predecessor, can take more of a long-termist approach.

And he managed both Mainz and Borussia Dortmund for seven years. If he shows similar longevity at Anfield, he will not depart until Benitez is 62. That may render it highly unlikely the Wirral’s most famous resident will return for a second spell at his adopted home. If the Klopp project is deemed a success, Liverpool may not want a manager who appears his opposite.

They were actually men who arrived on Merseyside with similar CVs: both had won their domestic league twice, despite opposition from wealthier clubs, and prospered in Europe, with Benitez lifting the Uefa Cup and Klopp contesting the Champions League final. Yet now it is apparent the similarities were superficial. Liverpool can look back with gratitude and affection at Benitez’s Champions League-winning exploits and his terrific team of 2009, but they seem ever more distant days as Klopp employs radically different ideas.