It’s 2018 and soccer teams are racing to be attached with a documentary series. Amazon has Manchester City, Netflix has Juventus and Boca Juniors. A documentary series not only brings in revenue but potentially brings in new fans, especially in the very fertile U.S. market. But there’s one team who may not take part in this “gold rush” of soccer documentary series and it is a team everyone would want to have.
According to the Daily Mail, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp turned down Amazon to be the second soccer team profiled in their All or Nothing series. After the critical success the series had when they followed Manchester City, Amazon was hoping to continue that trend with one of the most entertaining teams in the world. Insead, despite ownership supporting the idea, Klopp turned it down, claiming he felt “there is nothing to be gained from fly-on-the-wall exposure and that people’s behavior changes when they are on camera.”
It’s easy to understand why someone in John Henry’s position would want this series the same reason why someone in Jurgen Klopp’s position wouldn’t want this. Liverpool is coming off a Champions League final loss and is the most likely competition for Manchester City for the Premier League. And considering Liverpool hasn’t won a trophy yet in Klopp’s tenure, Klopp doesn’t want this to be a distraction on their ultimate goal.
For fans, seeing other top teams get their own show and Liverpool voluntarily turning down a chance, that might be discouraging. Liverpool has had a documentary series about them, with Fox Sports doing Being: Liverpool in 2012. But when Liverpool did their series, they may have been early to the punch. Streaming services weren’t as big as they were back then, Liverpool wasn’t good at that time and Brendan Rodgers wasn’t portrayed well. But if turning down a chance to take part in the series increases their chance of winning a trophy, fans may be quick to forgive.
As for Amazon, they are expected to move on and work out a deal with Bayern Munich, which will bring the Bundesliga into the fold of soccer documentary series.
About Phillip Bupp
Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them.
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