LIVERPOOL -- Jurgen Klopp marked his arrival at Liverpool by casting himself as the opposite of Jose Mourinho and declaring he is the "Normal One," although he said he has been appointed by a "special club."
He also told his first news conference since being confirmed as Brendan Rodgers' successor on Thursday that he will have "the first and the last word on transfers."
Mourinho famously described himself as a "Special One" when he was unveiled as Chelsea manager in 2004, but Klopp deflected comparisons with great Liverpool managers of the past such as Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley by insisting he did not begin with a stated aim of trying to become a legend.
"I don't want to describe myself," he said. "I'm a totally normal guy -- I'm the 'Normal One.' I am a normal guy from the Black Forest. I was a very average player. I don't compare myself with these genius managers from the past.
"None of these great managers said in his first press conference that their target is that they want to be a legend. This is a great club because of many good decisions in the past; [they had] good players, brilliant players, but now we have to work in the present."
Asked what attracted him to the job, Klopp -- who has vowed to bring "full-throttle" football to Liverpool -- said: "The intensity of the football, of how the people live football in Liverpool and all Liverpool fans around the world.
"It is not a usual club. It is a special club. I had two very, very special clubs with Mainz and Dortmund. It is the perfect next step for me to be here and try and help."
Rodgers had suggested before his departure that he was unhappy with the quality of the squad, raising fresh questions over the club's transfer committee.
However, Klopp -- who is used to working in the German system, in which sporting directors take primary control of transfer activity -- said the transfer situation at Liverpool was "not a problem."
He added: "We talked about it for 10 seconds. I have the first and the last word on transfers.
"We only want to discuss really good players. I'm not a genius, I don't know more than the rest of the world. I need the other people to get perfect information. It's really easy to handle it."
Klopp said Liverpool's predicament is not as bad as many suggest, adding: "I can say it is the biggest honour I can imagine [to manage] one of the biggest clubs in the world and be given this opportunity to try and help in a situation that is not so difficult like all the people in this room feel."
Liverpool are currently 10th in the Premier League, six points behind leaders Manchester City after eight games.