by Liverpool’s renaissance which was to be under attack on four fronts began with the renewal of Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool face Premier League leaders Fulham in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Wednesday night, with Arsenal looking to exit the FA Cup and qualify for the last 16 of the Europa League.
No wonder Klopp has re-established Liverpool as a force. The fact that he did so soon after a season in which the club crashed out of the Champions League, set him up for a transfer window and became the Premier League’s sixth biggest spenders in the 2023 summer transfer window .
How did he do it so soon? Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders gave his insight into how Klopp has reinvigorated himself and the club.
Banish negative energy
Lijnders offered a colorful image of how Liverpool ensured that the trials and tribulations of last season were quickly forgotten.
“I said as a joke if anyone was negative in this building I would punch them in the face,” says Klopp’s No 2. “I said that to every one of them. To make sure we didn’t bring anything over.”
Klopp is known for his positive energy but maintaining it when results are poor, senior players such as Roberto Firmino and Fabinho are coming to the end of their Liverpool careers, and prime transfer targets are easier to join than other clubs. was made.
Lijnders, one of Klopp’s top lieutenants, said training meetings with fellow assistant manager Peter Krawietz, goalkeeping coach John Achterberg and elite development coach Vitor Matos set a fresh course.
“You don’t want that negativity. You are a product of your own environment,” said Lijnders.
“We are [the coaches] work together and if you had three or four negative guys, everyone would be negative. If you have positive guys, the opposite. That’s how the world works. It is important that I remain calm and give my honest opinion in a positive way. I can only speak for myself on that, but I always stay positive.”
Klopp’s new signings have been recharged
Although not all top goals were achieved last summer – everyone remembers the sagas of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia – Klopp had the boardroom support to fill the vacancies, particularly in midfield.
Lijnders says the clarity of purpose and support from Liverpool’s American ownership was crucial because of as much as £100 million in potential Uefa earnings when the team finished fifth.
“There is no good manager without good ownership,” Lijnders said.
“The ownership invested in the squad where we needed to invest and that is already a very good sign. You bring energy, power, talent, young players and that energizes the manager and the coaching staff because you are working with new players and you have to explain the idea again.
“We knew we could invest and we knew we would invest during the summer. Cody [Gakpo] a summer signing that we brought forward to January [2023]. We could do that soon and it was great. If you look at the number of players we’ve brought in, that’s amazing.”
Alexis McAllister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo followed during the summer.
“The way we do business and the way our ownership works – of course you rely on money from the Champions League, but not so much how we do our things very well,” says Lijnders.
“If we don’t have it, we don’t do it. If we have it, we do it. Sometimes it’s like salaries are going away when players go, so this can make a big difference in whether you get things done or not. If you see it when it happens it’s more complicated than you think. Champions League money is about a lot of things.”
A new leadership group sets standards
Jordan Henderson and James Milner have been the leaders for the past eight years. When they left in the summer, Klopp handed senior roles to Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold. Lijnders says he knew the captain and vice-captain would lead the way on and off the pitch and the side would elevate itself to where it is used to.
“I felt that from last season already [that the group was special] and the moment we started doing the signings, and then when we started to arrange the leadership group and the captain,” says Lijnders.
“When Virgil was captain I knew he needed that responsibility and that he would succeed again. We needed him at his best for the way we play – both backs jumped a lot, jumping up and pressing. We needed him and Ibou [Ibrahima Konate]Joel [Matip]Jarell [Quansah] in a very good way.
“What’s not often seen is that our centre-halves are playing much better with the ball. If you look at how close they play to the offense and how they’re stepping in with the pass outside or inside, they’re playing to the level we needed. They are making a big, big difference.
“Many key players left, seniors who were always leaders, so new players had to stand up – Mo Salah, Virgil, Alisson, Trent – and they did. There was a voice in their head saying ‘We want to be successful so we have to go through this’.
“These things help, these things are vital, but then you have to be successful. You have to win games when you think you might not win them. Newcastle away [in August] it was a huge one. That creates momentum. Winning helps.”
Jones a symbol of potential being realized
Klopp and Ljinders rarely praise single players, but the progress of Curtis Jones this season – a homegrown talent who regularly features in the best starting XI – has clearly been a delight.
“I don’t always want to go on about the new players because Curtis is a good example,” says Lijnders.
“He doesn’t get the credit he deserves, maybe because he comes from the academy, I don’t know. But if you see what he has done for the team since the end of last season he is as good as a new signing.”
Liverpool have continued their policy of blending academy talent with expensive signings, the way their youth center is being used is paying off in European and domestic competitions this season. While Alexander-Arnold is out injured on Wednesday, fellow youth product Conor Bradley is set to step in.
Lijnders says this approach has helped rejuvenate the club, with the average age of Liverpool’s starting line-up much lower than two years ago. Earlier this season, Klopp fielded Liverpool’s youngest European team. Now he has the room to improve on a squad that is already impressing with a younger feel.
“When young players feel that they have to do more, they feel more and more that it’s going to be a team,” says Lijnders.
“That’s what you want. That energizes everyone. If you see that they want to run at 8am, they understand it and go through hard times. I really believe that the difference has been made on the training pitch. The attitude of the boys and the quality of the sessions – that combination makes a big difference.”
