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When the average person tries to picture the inevitable dystopia of the future, the first thing that comes to mind is the terrifying omnipresence of state surveillance. Cameras in your living room, listening devices in your sink, motion sensors in your breadbin – all of these are clear indicators that you're now living in an authoritarian dictatorship. Likewise, if you're a fan of personal privacy and, you know, not being sent to a gulag, incessant filming of your movements at work is never a good sign.Thankfully, most of us are yet to experience – or at least notice – oppressive levels of individual scrutiny. For one man, however, that Orwellian dreamscape has just become a cold, hard reality.That man is Jurgen Klopp.Jurgen is a difficult man to dislike. Despite mixed results since he took the reins at Anfield in October of last year, he's inspired almost universal admiration from Liverpool fans – and, in fact, everyone else. He turned up on these shores, guffawed heartily, flashed us all a wonky grin and instantly captured our susceptible hearts. If anything, he's inspired a national phenomenon of social ineptitude. We are too keen to show our admiration for him, too enthusiastic in our praise.English football fans have been reduced to a state of gawky, fawning fandom, completely seduced by Jurgen's scruffy, manish charms. After his long and illustrious spell at Borussia Dortmund, German fans hold him in similarly high regard.Nonetheless, one German TV station has probably gone a bit far in trying to capitalise on our collective adulation of Klopp. In the days ahead of his much-heralded return to the Westfalenstadion – Liverpool are about to play Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League, in case you didn't know – Sport1 announced plans for a special "Klopp Cam" trained on the Liverpool boss for the entire game. Yes, that's right: they were literally going to broadcast Klopp's every move for a full 90 minutes.Sport1's executive editor, Dirc Seemann, said: "During the match we'll offer our users a Klopp live cam."It will be on him for 90 minutes, as a special for his homecoming. Once Jurgen Klopp gets to the Westfalenstadion in the team bus we'll have our cameras on him."Even for the most diehard Klopp fan, this is surely too much. Considering that "Klopp Cam" seems like the logical precursor to a world in the mould of Death Race 2000 or The Running Man, it's little surprise that Klopp himself was less than keen on the idea. Indeed, it seems to have really, really pissed him off. When told about Sport1's intentions in his pre-match press conference, he said: "You see how crazy the world is? They can't put a camera in my face. I know the way in Dortmund – off the bus, into the dressing room and no-one allowed in, only us."I don't play. If someone is silly enough to want to see my face for 90 minutes during a game, I cannot change the world. I can't believe it is like this, but if it is true I have to think about whether I will really talk with this television station in my life again. I'm pretty sure I will not, if I don't have to."Maybe they will think about that because I have done a few interviews with them until now. But that's how it is".Unsurprisingly, Sport1 have now shelved the idea. That's probably a good thing – they were in serious danger of turning the dystopian future into a dystopian present.
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