Jurgen Klopp has taken charge of some truly brilliant players during his time at Liverpool.
It has often been said that Liverpool don’t buy superstars, they make them and that has never been truer than during Klopp’s reign.
Indeed, the manager played his part in turning some slightly uninspiring signings into genuine club legends.
Having built that team along with his coaching staff, Klopp can expect to hear plenty of questions come his way from aspiring coaches in the future. Exactly how do you build such a great team, so much better than the sum of its parts?
In the week of his Liverpool exit, that’s exactly what Klopp has already been asked. And his answer suggests which player he thought the most of during his time at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp makes Roberto Firmino point
In debates over who was the best player of the Jurgen Klopp era, there’s likely to be many differing opinions.
Some will no doubt be keen to extol the virtues of Mohamed Salah, the man with the most goals under the manager. Others will be adamant that Virgil van Dijk has been the key man throughout every bit of success.
Votes may also go to Alisson Becker for his transformative goalkeeping, or to Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has been the creative spark.
But according to Klopp himself, there may be another, less heralded star who takes the cake. As per The Athletic, the German took part in an hour-long Q&A with Liverpool staff from across the club at Anfield last week.
Asked to give his advice for anyone looking to ‘build a great team’ Klopp reportedly gave a slightly tongue-in-cheek answer.
“Build it around Bobby Firmino,” Jurgen replied.
Virgil van Dijk echoes Jurgen Klopp praise
As time passes, we get the feeling that Roberto Firmino’s input in Klopp’s Liverpool will only grow more legendary.
The Brazilian may not have been the biggest superstar in the team, but he was absolutely crucial to everything the Reds did. He was the system.
READ MORE: Liverpool youngster claims he plays just like Roberto Firmino
And it isn’t just Klopp who believes that Bobby was the key. Van Dijk was recently asked to name the best player he’d ever played with, and it was Firmino’s name that came up first.
The legendary John Barnes has also previously named the 32-year-old as his favourite player of the Klopp era.
All of the others have of course been vital, but perhaps no one quite symbolises the manager’s period at the club like Bobby. Time to put some more respect on his name.