To understand Jurgen Klopp the football manager is to appreciate the effect he has on people.



Consider the story of a six-year-old boy suffering from leukemia invited to Melwood the morning after last month’s victory over Crystal Palace with his father, who left the facility frantically typing his recollections into his phone just to ensure his son did not forget any details of the conversation he had with Liverpool’s manager.



The players were beginning their recovery session when Klopp noticed the boy sitting on the wall waving at him, so he waved back. A little while later, Klopp came over, casually sat down and instigated a discussion by explaining what was happening in front of them.



After a warm-down, there was rehabilitation to prevent injuries and something called “pre-activating,” which the boy nodded at, like he was already in the know. Some light training followed. Pretty standard stuff but all along, Klopp quietly acted like...