Revisiting Jurgen Klopp’s all 6 previous cup final defeats

Just over 24 hours from now, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur will contest the Madrid showpiece for the Big Ol' Ears in an enticing all-English final.

And as restless as we get ahead of the highly anticipated kickoff, a certain Jurgen Klopp is getting more jitters and the screaming abdabs than anyone of us. The German gaffer is into the eighth major final of his career but has lost each of the last six, including two in this particular competition.

His teams seem to hit a glass ceiling when glory is within touching distance, and this unwanted tendency is exactly what might be perturbing him a day before another important final.

Let's take a trip down the memory lane and revisit all the six consecutive finals that Klopp has lost since 2013:

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#6 Borussia Dortmund 1-2 Bayern Munich (UEFA Champions League final, 2013)

Robben strikes at the death as Klopp loses his first European final

Jurgen Klopp inherited a mediocre, mid-table teetering Borussia Dortmund outfit in 2008 and turned them into an all-conquering juggernaut, winning successive Bundesliga titles in 2010 and 2011 as well as the German Cup in the latter to cap off a historic cup double.

So when Der BVB reached the Champions League final in 2013 against all the odds, it was supposed to be the apotheosis of the wonderful transformation caused by Klopp’s tutelage.

Instead, that Wembley showpiece was the harbinger of a horrific run in the finals.

In the all-German final, Dortmund showed stones against a formidable Bayern Munich side determined to exorcise the ghosts of the 2010 and 2012 defeats. And it was Arjen Robben who sprung out of the blue and netted the winner in the 89th minute as the Bavarians eventually clinched treble glory.

"It was a really hard season for us and I saw that from 75 minutes on," Klopp said afterwards. "We deserved to be in the final. That is not the most important thing, but it is important."

#5 Borussia Dortmund 0-2 Bayern Munich (DFB Cup final, 2014)

Robben comes back to haunt Dortmund again a year later

Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola’s rivalry goes back a long way. Currently, the German enjoys a superior head-to-head record over his Spanish counterpart, but back in their Bundesliga days, it was quite the contrast.

And Guardiola also pipped his only ever cup final duel with Klopp in 2014 when his Bayern Munich side saw off Dortmund in the extra time of the DFB Cup final to complete a domestic double.

Exactly a year on from the Wembley showpiece, the Bundesliga behemoths met in another final and as normal time could produce no clear blue water between the sides; the match headed for an additional 30 minutes where Thomas Muller and Arjen Robben (yet again), scored to pillage another title from Dortmund’s clasps.

For the second consecutive year, Klopp was left without a trophy to celebrate.

#4 Borussia Dortmund 1-3 VfL Wolfsburg (DFB Cup final, 2015)

The Wolves inflicted a third consecutive cup final loss on Dortmund

Die Schwarz Gelben were into their third consecutive German Cup final, and this one had special significance as it was Klopp’s last as the Dortmund manager.

He was supposed to bow out on a high, especially after beating holders Bayern in the semis on their own turf. But this time, an irresistibly good Wolfsburg outfit befell his rag-tag team that could only finish seventh in the league after a calamitous season.

The DFB Cup final offered an opportunity to salvage some pride and also a fitting swansong, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s early opener fell through the cracks after a 15-minute blitzkrieg that saw Wolfsburg score thrice through Luis Gustavo, Kevin De Bruyne and Bas Dost.

“I’m going to need time to get over this loss,” said an aggrieved Klopp after the match.

#3 Manchester City 1-1 Liverpool (3-1 on penalties; EFL Cup final, 2016)

Coutinho equalised late on but missed a penalty in the shootouts as Klopp lost his first final with the Reds

Another Wembley final, against another opponent, and yet another heartbreak: it was all starting to get monotonous for Ze German.

Barely four months into his Liverpool tenure, Klopp had a chance to make an early statement and also strike a chord with the Kopites with an EFL final victory, but a laborious effort from the Reds saw Philippe Coutinho cancel out Fernandinho’s opener only in the dying embers.

There was no clear blue water between the sides in the extra-time, and a penalty shootout beckoned, which Liverpool contrived to lose 3-1.

Coutinho, along with Adam Lallana and Lucas Leiva, all missed their spot kicks in consecutive turns as Klopp’s first final as the Liverpool manager ended with a deja vu feeling.

#2 Liverpool 1-3 Sevilla (UEFA Europa League final, 2016)

Sevilla turned the tides after the break to seal a historic third successive Europa League glory

Jurgen Klopp didn’t have to wait too long for another final with his new side because just two months after the League Cup loss, the Reds were in the Europa League finals and in with another shot at glory.

Sevilla, who won the previous two editions of the competition, were into their third consecutive final, but the amazing run was supposedly coming to an end when Daniel Sturridge scored in an exuberant first-half as the Reds ran riot.

However, in a mysterious change of circumstances, Los Rojiblancos came flying out of the blocks after the break and mounted an incredible comeback to clinch the Basel showpiece 3-1 and cap a historic three-peat.

Klopp looked on as punch drunk at his side in that calamitous second half.

#1 Real Madrid 3-1 Liverpool (UEFA Champions League final, 2018)

There was no chance Karius was going to stop this...

Now in his sixth final, Jurgen Klopp was presented with an opportunity to right the wrongs of Wembley 2013. However, even if it wasn’t for him, his goalkeeper Loris Karius came up with more wrongs to prolong his misery.

The German netminder committed a pair of embarrassing bloopers (inexplicably throwing the ball straight at Karim Benzema before fumbling Gareth Bale’s hopeful 30-yard punt) on either side of Bale’s remarkable overhead kick as Liverpool were overwhelmed once again.

Klopp’s trump card Mohamed Salah, who was coming off the back of a stellar campaign, had to be taken off inside the half-hour mark owing to a shoulder injury after a duel with Sergio Ramos. So the writing was already on the wall for Klopp.

Twelve months later, he’s back for a third bite of the cherry as familiar foes Tottenham Hotspur await in the Madrid showpiece. Redemption beckons. Can he finally deliver?