Liverpool's director of research Ian Graham has detailed how Jurgen Klopp's open approach to management has enabled his data analysis to thrive.
Graham's work behind the scenes at Anfield is believed to have played a role in the recruitment of players such as Naby Keita, Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson.
The Welshman in 2012 but says it is Klopp who has allowed his work to flourish for the European champions.
Speaking to Freakonomics Radio : “My concern about Jurgen was that his ‘act’ that you see in front of the cameras every week was just that and he was really someone different. But it really isn’t.
"Data analysis, because it is new and football is a very conservative sport, it is difficult to get across and it is very understandable that a manager who has one hundred other things to worry about to just say ‘do you know what, I am not interested in this’ but Jurgen took the time and was kind enough to let me explain our approach.
"He understood it and appreciated it. He is in the top five per cent of managers, in my opinion.
"Our owners, my colleagues and myself were all big fans of Jurgen and his Dortmund team in the early 2010s. They played the most exciting brand of football in Europe and coming from a place that wasn’t of financial dominance.
"They won the Bundesliga twice at a huge financial deficit to Bayern Munich, so he was always a dream hire as a manger.
"But his last season at Dortmund was disastrous and they were in the relegation zone and the German media said it was all over for Dortmund and Klopp had lost it.
"There was no way back for them. Our analysis showed something quite different, they were still the second best team in Germany but the performances had not matched the results.
"So I analysed 10 seasons of Bundesliga performances and Dortmund were the second unluckiest team in that 10-year history. There really was some terrible luck that season that cost Jurgen."
