Jurgen Klopp, the German football manager who’s spoken openly about his Christian faith, recently took the reigns at Liverpool FC.
The 48-year-old German is regarded as one of the best coaches in Europe, having achieved huge success in his homeland, leading the club Borussia Dortmund to two league titles and a Champions League final.
In an article about his faith, he wrote: ‘Although there is no football God, I believe that there is a God who loves us humans, just as we are, with all our quirks, and that’s why I think he also loves football! But we have to score our own goals.’
Writing for fussball-gott.com (soccer-god.com) he said, ‘All of these really likeable guys who I meet week in week out at matches, or in some cases even in training, have one thing in common: they have noticed at some stage in their careers that there must be more to life than championship and relegation battles.
‘They relate how a relationship with God has changed their perspective.’
In an age in which each successful new manager is praised for his novel ‘football philosophy’, Klopp is adamant that his faith is more important to him than the game.
In an interview with fr-online. de, he said: ‘To be a believer, but not to want to talk about it – I do not know how it would work! If anyone asks me about my faith, I give information. Not because I have claim to be any sort of missionary. But when I look at me and my life – and I take time for that every day – then I feel I am in sensationally good hands.
‘And I find it a pity if other people lack this sense of security – although they don’t know it, of course, because otherwise they would probably look for it.’
He also relates how he had to grapple with important lifestyle questions even at a young age: ‘At about 13, 14 years old, the question arose: Can I actually kick on Sunday morning, even though I was supposed to go to church?
‘It can’t be that I’ve got such a love and passion for the sport, only for me to be prevented from training for the sake of one hour of church on Sunday – especially since there is plenty of time in the rest of the week for faith.
‘Since then I’ve realised that the matter is clear for me.
Words: Alex Dibble
