Just over a fortnight into his time with Liverpool, goalkeeping coach Claudio Taffarel has explained how he took the job, with Alisson urging him to join “years ago.”
Taffarel, a legendary Brazilian goalkeeper, was confirmed as the newest addition to Jurgen Klopp‘s backroom staff at the end of November.
The 55-year-old has linked up with head of goalkeeping John Achterberg and his assistant Jack Robinson, with Klopp insisting that Taffarel’s arrival would not prompt a reshuffle.
Instead, he has joined to expand Liverpool’s coaching staff, and now it is routine for five goalkeepers to take part in first-team training.
Alisson, as No. 1, is the primary focus, but an emphasis is also placed on youth in the likes of Caoimhin Kelleher, Marcelo Pitaluga, Harvey Davies and returning loanee Vitezslav Jaros.
It is the connection with Alisson that brought Taffarel to Merseyside, however, as he told Brazilian publication Zero Hora this week.
“Alisson, years ago, told me that if he had the opportunity he would like to bring someone to add along with John and Jack,” he revealed.
“[We continued] our good work in [the] Brazil [national team], and things came together.
“Klopp agreed, Liverpool accepted, and I’m here, believing that it’s really God who opened this huge door for me.”
The notion of three goalkeeping coaches within the first-team setup is not common in the Premier League, but Klopp has detailed his intention to “build kind of our own philosophy.”
That requires input from a variety of cultures, with Taffarel noting how there are “two Germans, two Dutch, one Portuguese, one British, and now, finally, a Brazilian” in the immediate coaching staff.
Taffarel is, of course, Brazilian, while Achterberg is Dutch and Robinson is English, but he insists “there are not three goalkeeping schools,” adding: “It’s one now, and it’s called Liverpool.”
“We plan the day-to-day work together, we understand each other very well, because the main focus is on preparing the goalkeepers, giving the best training to prepare them well,” he explained.
“Alisson, who is playing, has shown a very good result, playing great games.
“That’s really the idea here, for the club to have a philosophy and training for a goalkeeper, which, for us, is a very good example of how Alisson plays.
“[We want] a safe, technical goalkeeper who plays well with his feet to provide quality and tranquillity when passing the ball or participating in the game.”
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