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Steven Crawford

Northern Ireland men play key role in fans' 'love letter' to Jurgen Klopp

If Jürgen Klopp was going to produce a documentary about himself, how would he do it?

That was the premise The Anfield Wrap based its magnificent five part docu-series 'Jürgen' on, supported by ERDINGER.

Klopp is an instantly recognisable figure in the world of football given his successes with Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund, but there is so much more to the man.

Read more: From Nottingham 'villain' to Belfast hero, Conlan ready to realise dream

Award winning fan media organisation The Anfield Wrap talks honestly and passionately about every game through the eyes of match-going supporters.

In the past decade it has grown from a website and single weekly podcast to a subscription package of circa 60 shows a month.

The content has always been engaging and very well-produced but last year they set about the task of telling the story of their beloved manager.

Countless interviews followed with footballers that played with and under him, friends that stood by his side through thick and thin, colleagues that helped him move to the next level and the fans that gave him their undying support throughout.

It helped them put together a five-part documentary produced entirely in-house, which not only has the content but the production values worthy of telling such an important story.

Two Northern Irish men were instrumental in this dream becoming a reality.

Craig Hannan has worked full-time with TAW for the last six years with editor Jordan Singleton putting together a visually stunning and fascinating watch.

"We obviously love Jürgen and we felt like nobody had really told the entire story of his life in football so far," explained Craig.

"Fuad Hasan our director started planning earlier in the year and drew up a list of people that he wanted to interview across each of the places Jürgen called home - and then our video team spent quite a bit of time over the summer in Germany filming!

"The premise is - ‘If Jürgen Klopp was going to produce a documentary about himself, how would he do it? He’d tell the story of the people and places that helped shape and influence him.

"We felt if you asked him who he would like to produce it, he might say the fans!

"It’s become a bit of a love letter to him - We’ve ended up with thirty five interviews, filmed across four countries - and our brilliant editor Jordan who is from Belfast has been working on the edit since September. He’s done a brilliant job.

Jurgen Klopp wass unveiled as the new manager of Liverpool on October 9, 2015 (Getty Images)

"Rather than telling his story chronologically, each episode centres around a particular theme because each of them recur at each club he manages.

"What is really interesting is that at different points through the documentary you’ll hear someone from Mainz talking about how his team there bounced back from disappointment to win the following season, or how his Dortmund team came back from 3-0 down in an important game and they could easily be talking about a specific time in Liverpool. There are so many common themes at each club.

"There are so many brilliant stories that help paint a picture of Jürgen the player, the manager, the leader but most importantly the person.

"What’s clear is that he hasn’t really changed as a person - and actually what’s changed is the lives of the people he’s met along the way and the lasting impact he’s left on each place - Glatten, Frankfurt, Mainz, Dortmund and of course Liverpool.

"We really are proud of it and it’s a project that everyone at The Anfield Wrap has contributed to which makes it more special.

"From strategy to production the entire campaign has been produced in-house by a team of 13 full time staff, mostly young people.

"So much work has gone into it behind the scenes - the interviews for example - Whether it was finding childhood friends of Jürgen, coaches of his when he was a player, the people who gave him his first coaching job in Mainz, players who played under him at both Mainz and Dortmund and the likes of Kenny Dalglish, Jamie Carragher, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Adam Lallana to name a few in Liverpool.

Jurgen Klopp has won numerous major honours with the Reds (Getty Images)

"But what helps is that we’re fan led, people know that we are doing it for the right reasons - it’s basically a love letter to Jürgen Klopp from the fans and we’re trusted within football to tell that story."

Working at TAW is clearly a labour of love for Craig, who is Head of Brand & Marketing, but he hasn't forgotten his roots as he makes sure the army of Reds fans in Northern Ireland are well catered for.

"Listeners back home have always been good to us, we’ve done countless live shows there and so we’ve always loved bringing a little bit of Liverpool over," he said.

"I love this place and I’ll always find a way to include home in campaigns!

"Even when I don’t, maybe I’m influenced by home without realising…I lead the work on commissioning the Trent Alexander-Arnold mural in Liverpool and mates there joked that of course it was someone from Northern Ireland that had a mural painted!

"And with the editor of the documentary Jordan being from Belfast, then it was only right to put the billboard on Great Patrick Street.

"I've been working for TAW full time for almost six years now, and I’m fortunate that it’s a job that’s given me so many opportunities and experiences - from watching Liverpool win everything, speaking on stage at live shows all over the world, working with big brands like Nike or meeting my heroes.

"It’s a dream job and I don’t take any of it for granted."

The third instalment of the series is available to watch here and looks into how Jürgen Klopp recruited in Mainz, Dortmund and Liverpool.

Part four will be available on the TAW App on Friday with part five following on Monday.

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