Jurgen Klopp met Liverpool on Lexington Avenue; a coach on sabbatical, a club on a holiday from being elite. The surroundings (law offices) were serious and so were the stakes. Yet attire was informal. Neither Klopp nor Mike Gordon, the president of Fenway Sports Group, wore a suit. Klopp and Gordon had talked by phone, finding “terrific” rapport, but now came the crunch: this was October 1, 2015, less than five months into what Klopp envisaged as a year-long break after leaving Borussia Dortmund. Would he give up that for the red-hot hot-seat of Liverpool?

“One week before, I was in full holiday. Absolutely full holiday. The plan was I’d start in November, doing a few things to improve my knowledge: going to different clubs,