Jürgen Klopp has backed Andoni Iraola to succeed at Anfield, but noted that if his former club and its new head coach are to form a long-term successful partnership, they will need some good fortune along the way.
Klopp enjoyed a trophy-laden nine years in charge of Liverpool, delivering the club's sixth Champions League and ending their long wait for a Premier League title before announcing his shock resignation during the 2023-24 season.
His successor Arne Slot led the team back to the summit of the English top flight at the first time of asking but was sacked at the end of last season after the team finished fifth.
Andoni Iraola was confirmed as Liverpool's new head coach earlier this month and Klopp has backed him to bring the good times back to Anfield.
Andoni Iraola will work to live up to Jürgen Klopp's legacy at Liverpool. Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images Asked about why the team might have dropped off last season, Klopp told ESPN: "No idea. I'm not close enough to judge that. I was super happy that they won a league a year before and I have no idea what was wrong that the year after.
"So I think nobody was very happy with the season. That was obvious, but they still qualified for the Champions League and that's a great success. So now you can go again and have a new manager and Andoni Iraola who is a great coach as well, like Arne Slot is, but it has to click. It has to work together for a long time and for that and you need luck.
"There was a situation before last season at Liverpool, which nobody expected to happen and to deal with these kind of things is really difficult," Klopp said, referencing the death of Diogo Jota last summer.
"I don't know what exactly went on, but so the last season is now passed as well and now they can look into the future."
Klopp: We 'witnessed greatness' with good friend Salah
Despite their fruitful relationship at Liverpool, Klopp and Salah did not always see eye to eye with a touchline disagreement during a Premier League match at the London Stadium in 2024 a notable flashpoint.
"We are friends now," Klopp told ESPN. "So how I saw it with my players, I always said it, I want to be the friend of my players. I cannot be their best friend. While you're working together, players sometimes think I'm not even their friend because I have to make some decisions they don't like. But the good thing is it's all past... The strongest thing in life is good memories. They are stronger than pretty much anything else. And right now we share them and so we are friends and now he's at the World Cup."