Liverpool have been highly successful as a club in the last few years. Champions League and Premier League success has been achieved and this, in small part, can be directly traced to their owners FSG.
FSG or Fenway Sports Group Holding is an American sports holding group that owns multiple teams apart from the legacy club.
Their other two major clubs are both based in the USA and belong to different sports.
One plays in the National Hockey League and is named Pittsburgh Penguins, while the other one plays baseball and is named Boston Red Sox.
Boston Red Sox are a highly successful team, winning the World Series championship nine times, the joint third-most of any MLB team. Their rivals, the New York Yankees, are the most successful in the league with 27 such titles.
The rivalry is one of the fiercest in all of the American sports with a history of over 120 seasons.
Given the context, therefore, it came as a natural shock for many Liverpool fans when their manager, Jurgen Klopp, was recently spotted wearing a Yankees cap recently when watching a U21 game.
I mean, it points to a direct rebellion against your employers and the ownership.
And some fans do think this is true as well. After all, this season has not gone to plan and it is the perfect time for stories of unrest to come out of training grounds and board rooms.
Moreover, Klopp does have enough reason to get upset with FSG.
There were talks earlier this season that the Americans would make way for fresh investment, resulting in a larger war chest in the transfer window for Klopp and co.
For one reason or another though, that has happened. And Klopp is still waiting for the money in the bank to go up. Which, as it stands, does not look to happen anytime soon.
But before you go on to think that something sinister is brewing up at Anfield, hold your horses.
This is not the first time the German was spotted with Yankees gear. Back in 2018, Klopp was spotted with a NY cap while vacationing in Ibiza.
If this is rebellion, it has certainly gone on for a long time. But it most likely isn’t.
Even if Klopp is indeed upset, we’re reasonably certain that he would not publicly display that and in the rare case that he does, it would be much more than a Yankees cap.
So why did he wear a cap of a rival team?
Maybe he likes the team?
The Yankees, one of the most successful and iconic teams in Major League Baseball, have a long history of winning and a devoted fan base. Klopp’s appreciation for the team is not surprising, given his own track record of success with Liverpool.
While there is no documented evidence that he supports the baseball team, his wearing that cap can certainly point to that.
Or, an even simpler answer to the question is fashion.
Guys it isn’t calculated 😭 pic.twitter.com/O9KdVkywXa
— Belinder (@_bubblxs) January 8, 2023
Yankees are a big brand around the globe and in the two instances we have seen Klopp wear the cap, the colour of the cap matches the other clothing he is wearing.
So maybe it is fashion after all.
But why the Yankees and why not some other team that would not irk FSG?
The timing of it all is indeed suspicious. And maybe Klopp is subtly showing a public middle finder to the Red Sox owners. Or maybe he is carefree and this is a non-issue for him.
The FSG may not like it. But given the heights the Kop have reached under him, surely this is something they should be willing to overlook.
A small price to pay for greater success maybe?