Liverpool have appointed a former Brazil No. 1 to work directly with their goalkeepers, and incoming coach Claudio Taffarel has already praised Alisson as the world’s best.
Taffarel joins the Reds to work alongside his role as goalkeeper coach for the Brazil national team, spending the domestic calendar with John Achterberg and Jack Robinson.
Jurgen Klopp anticipates the incoming 55-year-old having a big influence on the likes of Caoimhin Kelleher, Marcelo Pitaluga and Harvey Davies, while he also trains Alisson and Adrian as the more experienced pair.
There is no denying his priority will be Alisson, as Liverpool’s first-choice goalkeeper, and it is their relationship that was key to the club bringing Taffarel in.
A World Cup winner who earned 101 caps for Brazil, Taffarel is well-positioned to advise and train the Reds’ group of stoppers, and he is already a big fan of Alisson.
Speaking to FIFA’s official website in 2020, he named the 29-year-old as the world’s best goalkeeper, rather prophetically stating: “It’s his time.”
“FIFA themselves gave him The [Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper] award. And it was fully deserved,” he said.
“He has immaculate technique, he’s a big-moment goalkeeper, he’s been playing really well and helping his team get results.
“It’s his time. After Alisson I think there are a lot of great goalkeepers – Ederson, Ter Stegen, Courtois, who I rate very highly, Oblak.”
And in an interview with The Set Pieces in 2018, Taffarel discussed Alisson‘s development at Roma in Serie A, as he found himself in a similar position while at Parma.
“You know, from the moment Alisson started playing at Roma he has enjoyed a natural growth,” he said.
“We all expected it, because in Brazil he had already shown his potential. He always showed that in the Brazilian team as well.
“For us, it is very important. For the Brazilian goalkeepers it opens a lot of doors in Europe when they’re spoken of well.”
For Alisson, meanwhile, working with Taffarel for both club and country now will be a dream, having praised him in an interview with the Mail in 2020.
“Taffarel is the big guy, the big boss,” he said.
“He was an inspiration for us young goalies and now I have the opportunity to work together with him in the national team because he is the goalie coach.”
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