Jurgen Klopp’s final season at Borussia Dortmund before he joined Liverpool was reportedly one of the most challenging periods in his over 20-year managerial career. It is a widely discussed theory in the football world that Klopp’s seventh season as a club manager is doomed. He faced difficulties during his seventh season with Mainz, where they suffered relegation from the Bundesliga.
However, his seventh season at Borussia Dortmund was particularly tough. The team struggled to find their form, with the Colombian player scoring only twice in their opening three matches and then failing to find the net for the rest of the Bundesliga season. Defensive issues also plagued the team as they failed to secure a clean sheet until November, leading to their involvement in a relegation battle.
By February, Borussia Dortmund found themselves at the bottom of the Bundesliga table, prompting the general manager to declare a “real crisis.” Under increasing pressure, Klopp expressed his frustrations, admitting that the team lacked composure in critical moments. Following an embarrassing home defeat to 10-man Augsburg, Klopp confronted his players, expressing his disappointment and shaking them up in an effort to bring about a change.
Consequently, Dortmund’s fortunes began to turn around as they won their next four league games, achieved consecutive clean sheets for the first time in a year, and climbed to 10th place in the table. In April 2015, Klopp announced his departure from Borussia Dortmund, citing his belief that he was no longer the perfect coach for the club. He expressed the difficulty of leaving a club he considered extraordinary.
