Liverpool have so far successfully navigated a tricky-looking transition period between managers over the summer.
Having enjoyed almost nine years of sustained success under Jurgen Klopp, the Reds look to have barely missed a beat in the early days of Arne Slot’s reign.
Quite where things go from here obviously remains to be seen and the new Liverpool head coach will do well to come anywhere close to Klopp’s legacy at Anfield.
Nevertheless, nine wins from ten games under Slot so far has eased the pain of losing one of the most revered figures in Liverpool’s history.
In the meantime, Klopp has got a new job, too. It was announced on Wednesday that the 57-year-old has joined Red Bull as the Head of Global Soccer.
While that is unlikely to bother too many of a Liverpool persuasion, the pervading feeling at Borussia Dortmund appears to be rather different.
Borussia Dortmund fans not happy with Jurgen Klopp
It had always seemed likely that after leaving Liverpool Klopp would not immediately take another position in management.
There have even been suggestions that the German is finished with being in the dugout entirely. As a result, it is not a surprise to see him take on a wider-encompassing role.
His contract with Red Bull reportedly contains a clause that allows Jurgen to leave for the German national team job, but, again, that is unlikely to upset Liverpool fans. It will affect Dortmund supporters much more directly, though.
And with the Red Bull group and its franchise clubs having a poor reputation amongst traditional German football fans, journalist Archie Rhind-Tutt has summed up the feeling from those supporters after hearing the Klopp announcement.
READ MORE: Alexis Mac Allister shares what has changed from Jurgen Klopp to Arne Slot
“If you want an idea of how this is going down in Dortmund… a flavour of the comments from BVB fans to me this morning,” writes Rhind-Tutt.
“‘Football is dead’. ‘He’s absolutely dead to me’. ‘That makes me sick’.”
Obviously, not all supporters will share the same view, but it seems as though Jurgen might have scored a bit of an own goal with this one.
Why are Dortmund supporters upset?
This is not merely a case of Klopp joining a rival club, although there is no doubt an element of that as well, given Red Bull’s ownership of RB Leipzig.
The feeling of anger and upset here is much more likely to do with the fact that certain people see the Red Bull group and its clubs as being the antithesis of what football and football club ownership should be about.
Dortmund, like Liverpool, are a club who feel things more strongly than others, perhaps. That’s why Klopp fitted so perfectly there.
To see him join a group who represent in many ways the opposite of what they stand for has obviously disappointed some supporters.
To put it in English terms, a somewhat similar – although far from exact – scenario would perhaps be if Klopp joined the City Group to oversee clubs such as Palermo, Troyes, Bahia and all the other teams under that ownership umbrella.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
