The documentary isn’t essential viewing, but is very welcome for any fan down for a big spoonful of nostalgia for the Jürgen Klopp years.
Liverpool FC have just gotten through five games in fifteen days and emerged from it unbeaten, solidifying their position at the top of the Premier League table. Coincidentally, they have no game this weekend. (Thanks Plymouth!)
Things may have lined up perfectly for Liverpool, as the Jürgen Klopp documentary they were shooting at the end of last season finally dropped today. It’s available on Amazon Prime now, but it doesn’t seem like a worldwide release (for now). However, I was able to access it relatively easily through a VPN, and by switching my location to the UK.
The series consists of four episodes. It literally starts with Jürgen Klopp announcing his departure from the club. The series takes a lot of inspiration from The Last Dance, which chronicles Michael Jordan’s last season with the Chicago Bulls. Doubters to Believers follows a similar structure, taking viewers through the rest of the 2023/24 season while also flashing back to Klopp’s beginnings as a player, his transition to coaching with stints at Mainz and Borussia Dortmund, taking over Liverpool, and ultimately success in the form of the Champions League and Premier League wins. Both timelines ultimately converge at the end, with Klopp saying goodbye to Anfield.
Current players Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson Becker, Andy Robertson, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, and Jayden Danns help tell the story of Klopp’s time at the club. Contributors like German author and journalist Raphael Honigstein and former players Jamie Carragher and Adam Lallana lend perspective and context to whatever situation Klopp and Liverpool found themselves in. It’s pretty standard stuff, and what you’d expect from a behind-the-scenes documentary associated with a club.
If you’re super interested in tales of Klopp’s playing days at Mainz or his pre-LFC coaching days, this is not the documentary for that. After all, it is an official Liverpool FC vehicle. It’s in there, but it’s essentially just there to set up his time at Merseyside. Besides, that stuff has already been covered! The folks at The Anfield Wrap did a series, JÜRGEN, digging into all that stuff a couple of years ago, so be sure to watch that if you’re keen.
When the documentary was announced, a rather big hoo-hah was made of the access it would have. After all, Liverpool had been approached for Amazon’s All or Nothing series previously, but turned it down due to Klopp having concerns about having cameras around.
The access differentiates it from similar projects like the aforementioned JÜRGEN. You get first-hand insight from Klopp, and then Assistant Manager Pepijn Lijnders. For example, Lijnders mentions a blow-up with Klopp because Conor Bradley went on loan when he thought the player was ready. You see Pep giving Darwin Nunez a pep talk amidst a barrage of social media abuse. The staff confesses to being stressed out as the injuries mount up game after game. There’s even stuff from the wider circle of the team. For example, Harvey Elliott’s dad shows off how he goes through film with his son after every game. There are definitely tidbits every LFC fan would appreciate seeing.
The rest of the series… is quite by-the-numbers. It’s precisely what you’d expect. Taking over Liverpool, winning the fans over, the formation of the front three, the arrival of Virgil van Dijk, the Barcelona comeback, Klopp vs Guardiola, the PL title win. It’s all there. It’s still very good viewing because they are the greatest moments in modern Liverpool history, and you get the honest thoughts of Klopp and the players on top of them.
The lows, though? I was surprised at some of them. Hell, there’s a shot of Lazar Markovic and Raheem Sterling combining to miss a sitter in Brendan Rodgers’ last season. Stoke putting on an ass-whooping in Steven Gerrard’s last game? It’s in there. I totally forgot about Mamadou Sakho getting exiled from the squad by Klopp after acting a goof during the preseason tour. Sergio Ramos judo-throwing Mohamed Salah in Kiev? Yup, I’d blocked it out of my mind, but the documentary made sure I watched it again. It does help to elevate the high of the good moments and shows how much of the game is just dealing with mess and disappointment over and over again.
Liverpool’s commitment to youth is a recurring subject in the show. In addition to the Conor Bradley argument that Klopp doesn’t remember, Curtis Jones talks about his struggle to become a trusted first-team regular. Lijnders discusses trying to get Klopp to play Trent from the moment he takes the club’s reins. Jayden Danns is thrown into the fire as Liverpool runs deeper into an injury crisis. It all culminates in the epic Carabao Cup victory against Chelsea. If there’s anything the club wants you to know about Klopp’s legacy, it’s definitely that we play our youngsters.
All in all, it’s a fairly enjoyable watch, although there’s not a lot that diehard fans won’t already know about Klopp’s time at Liverpool. The bits that show the inner workings of Liverpool FC are welcome and a rare peek behind the curtains of the club. If you have 3 hours and 30 minutes to spare this weekend, sure, why not watch this documentary?