Managers

When it comes to soccer, the words and opinions of Sir Alex Ferguson are nothing if not respected. The man guided Manchester United to a dynasty and developed numerous world-class talents along the way.

Arguably the best talent Ferguson ever managed was Cristiano Ronaldo. Ferguson took the young Portuguese from Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United at the age of 18 and turned him into a star. You could even go so far as to say Ferguson laid the foundation that allowed Ronaldo to become what he is today: one of the greatest players of all time.

Liverpool couldn't have picked a better time to play their best game of the year. The Red Men completely overwhelmed Villarreal in the second leg of the Europa League semi-finals, 3-0, after losing the first leg, 1-0.

The match saw world-class performances by Emre Can, Nathaniel Clyne and Roberto Firmino in particular, but no one in the squad could be said to have played poorly.

And one man was even more world-class than the rest.

After seven largely successful years in charge of France’s AS Monaco, Arsene Wenger had certified his reputation as one of the most promising young managers in football.

He’d led Monaco to the Ligue 1 title in 1988 and a Coupe de France triumph in 1991. They’d also reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in 1994, leading to interest from Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen in the managerial services of Wenger.

He'd built his reputation as an astute, multilingual and forward-thinking coach who was capable of building and nurturing young squads.

Claudio Ranieri is that nice, sweet, charming uncle that we all wish we had growing up. For those of you who believe that nice guys finish last, that will come as a bit of a shock to you considering that he and his team, Leicester City, are about to win the Premier League this Sunday.

It’s not guaranteed, but if Leicester beats Manchester United on Sunday, or Tottenham loses to Chelsea on Monday, or any combination of Leicester picking up or Tottenham dropping three points occurs throughout the rest of the season, Leicester will be crowned champions. 

It's a rumour that is becoming more exasperating by the day. Will Jose Mourinho pack his bags and leave his beloved London? Will he relieve his former teacher, Louis Van Gaal, from his duties at Old Trafford, thus repeating every kung fu movie plotline ever? Well, it kind of depends who you ask. 

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says he won’t treat Daniel Sturridge like an orange and squeeze every last drop of playing time out of the striker. 

According to Transfermarkt, Sturridge has missed 74 games since the beginning of the 13/14 season, an average of almost 25 games a season, making him on of the most injury prone players in the Premier League.

Chelsea’s meek title defense resulted in Jose Mourinho losing his managerial position back in December. Now, Cesc Fabregas has opened up about the reasons behind Jose Mourinho and Chelsea’s failure on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football.

Jurgen Klopp was brought to Liverpool because of his reputation and history of success. At his former club, Borussia Dortmund, he had taken a team that had known failure for a long, long time and turned them into a title winner and Champions League finalist. Outside of his ability to build a team and teach it his tactical philosophy, he was known for his power of charisma. He knows how to say the right thing in the right way in order to get a reaction from people. 

Buzzer beaters and clutch shots are just part of another day’s work in the world of basketball, and yet are quite a rare commodity in the world of soccer, which makes them extra special when they happen. 

And nobody has provided the world with that kind of special more times than Jurgen Klopp in the last few years. So here are the top three nail-biters Klopp and his squads have gifted the world in recent history. 

3. Norwich City 4 – 5 Liverpool