Jurgen Klopp left his homeland for Liverpool two years ago... yet Germany remains obsessed and considers him a decisive figure in the future

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It seems that, whatever Jurgen Klopp does, he can't quite get away from Germany. It is two years since he left the Bundesliga and moved to Liverpool, yet even in that short time, he keeps on popping up back in his homeland.

There were successive Europa League ties against Augsburg and former club Dortmund, a pre-season tour which took in both Bavaria and Berlin this summer, and now, a Champions League qualifier against Hoffenheim. It's a good job the Germans still love Klopp, because they can't seem to shake him.

Love him they do, and not just in his old haunts of Dortmund and Mainz, but across the whole country. The Bundesliga rumbles on without Klopp, but most would agree that it was a bit more fun with him around. The press conference banter, the confident self-deprecation and even the infamous snarl are all missed from week to week.

Jurgen Klopp returns to Germany again with Liverpool this Tuesday to take on Hoffenheim

The manager has brought his Liverpool team back to his homeland on four occasions

Yet even as Liverpool coach, Klopp has continued to entertain his countrymen. His often curious translations of German idioms - think 'wish concert' - cause endless mirth, likewise his smirking Match of the Day interviews - think 'boom'.

At the press conference ahead of Tuesday's clash with Hoffenheim, those desperate for their Kloppo fix weren't left wanting. When an ARD reporter asked Klopp if he remembered his 'first time' in the Champions League, the Liverpool coach jumped on the innuendo and sent the nation into waves of sniggers.

Tuesday night will be the 37th Champions League tie of Klopp's managerial career, while his opposite number, baby-faced 30-year-old Julian Nagelsmann, is set to lose his innocence in the competition.

Hence the questions about first times. Klopp's first time in Europe's biggest competition was in 2011, a 1-1 draw against Arsenal. By that time, he had already established himself and his unique character, first as a TV pundit and then as Dortmund's title-winning coach. 

Klopp's time at Borussia Dortmund is remembered fondly by all football fans across Germany

Not taking football too seriously is key to his appeal and stands in contrast to other coaches

His anger and the infamous touchline snarl are as much a part of his character as the humour

It would only be two years later that Klopp, cackling away, would tell the world in English that he and Dortmund were 'like Robin Hood', as they blasted their way to the Champions League final. That, at the latest, was when the rest of the world began to fall in love with Kloppo.

Hoffenheim coach Nagelsmann has also made headlines internationally, largely because of his age. To compare the two, though, is to understand a little of why Klopp is missed. One touchline altercation with Roger Schmidt aside, Nagelsmann appears like a star student. Tactically erudite, earnestly progressive, he is, dare it be said, a little dull.

At the very least, he is a far cry from Jurgen Klopp, the Dortmund coach with the Pohler cap, snarling at fourth officials and cantering up and down the touchline.

Klopp's all-round authenticity, his passion and his apparent ability to not take the game too seriously is what makes him loved in both England and Germany. The likes of Nagelsmann or Thomas Tuchel seem cold and academic in contrast. It is an unfair, shorthand comparison, but one which nonetheless holds sway in public perceptions.

Tuchel, above all, was accused of not understanding the soul of Borussia Dortmund. When he lost the dressing room at the end of last season, fan favourite and Klopp prodigy Marcel Schmelzer was among the key figures with whom he fell out. When the club eventually sacked Tuchel, CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said that, among other things, it was about 'authenticity and loyalty'.

Hoffenheim coach Julian Nagelsmann seems cold and academic in contrast to Klopp

Klopp's Liverpool press conferences are regularly the source of entertainment in his homeland

Klopp's antics were a source of fascination for German football fans and he is still idolised 

Yet it is not just Klopp's man-of-the-people appeal which makes him special. Increasingly, he is seen in Germany as a decisive figure in the development of German football. As different as Nagelsmann and Tuchel appear, they have followed, profited from and perfected the tactical innovations that both Klopp and Pep Guardiola brought to the Bundesliga.

The 'heavy metal' football, with energetic pressing up front, is an integral part of the repertoire of many Bundesliga coaches. 

There is a sense, however vague, that the current emerging generation of young coaches in the Bundesliga - Nagelsmann, Tuchel, Alexander Nouri, Dominic Tedesco - owe a lot to Klopp. The one whose style is closest to Klopp's is Ralph Hasenhuttl, who led RB Leipzig to second place last season.

Klopp's presence remains in German football, whether it is commenting on spiralling transfer sums or popping up to actually play against Bundesliga opposition. Many Germans, meanwhile, have long held a quiet love of Liverpool, and that has only blossomed since Klopp's arrival.

He remains a source of fascination with Germany willing him to win the Premier League

There remains a sense that he will one day return to Germany and be decisive in their future

The club, with its German language Twitter account, has capitalised. Not just when he is pursuing Naby Keita and other Bundesliga stars do Klopp and Liverpool make headlines in Germany. There is a constant interest in how he is doing and, in many quarters, a desire for him to win the Premier League title.

The likes of David Wagner and Patrick Berger have told German newspapers that they think Klopp can do it. As of yet, most people are skeptical. Liverpool's leaky defence is famous across the world, and former Liverpool and Bayern star Dietmar Hamann was among those raising the issue again in the last few days.

'The defence was Liverpool's problem last year. When they had to take the game to the opposition, they were often vulnerable at the back,' Hamann told Bild. 'It will be difficult for Liverpool to win the league.'

Those comments will be water off a duck's back to Klopp, who himself gave an interview to Bild recently in which he claimed Man City were title favourites and talked openly about Liverpool's problems.

For now, he will be focused on the task in hand, which is to get past Hoffenheim and secure Liverpool's passage to the Champions League. If they do that, you wouldn't bet against them drawing RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund later in the competition. Something, whatever it is, will always draw Jurgen Klopp back home.

Even if the Premier League chews him up and spits him out, he will always have a home to go to