Sipke Hulshoff has been a quiet influence on Liverpool’s success since his decision to follow Arne Slot to Anfield – so who exactly is the Dutchman with the clipboard?
Every Batman needs their Robin.
At the side of the pitch and in front of the media, it is Arne Slot who is the leader tasked with bringing strength, direction and success to Liverpool.
Akin to Gotham’s Bat-Signal, it is the Dutchman’s name up in lights, called to build on the supreme foundations laid by Jurgen Klopp.
Nonetheless, it is not a responsibility that he shoulders alone. Always alongside him – even if back from the public glare – is Sipke Hulshoff.
The 47 year-old fellow Dutchman joined Liverpool as first assistant coach alongside Slot, continuing the role he had executed so brilliantly at Feyenoord from 2022 to 2024 when the club won only its second Eredivisie title of this century before backing it up with the Dutch Cup.
Similarly to lead physical performance coach Ruben Peeters, he is a key figure who has gone somewhat under the radar, with fans naturally lionising the main man donning that superhero cape.
Even though he had no professional playing career, Hulshoff has already amassed 26 years of coaching under his belt at various levels.
Now he can often be spotted in the dugout with clipboard in hand and has a prominent role on the training ground, yet he earned his stripes via youth roles at FC Groningen and Cambuur and brief managerial positions at Red Bull Ghana and in Qatar, before eventually beginning his seamless relationship with Slot as his assistant back at Cambuur.
Then, after the partnership was disturbed by Slot’s move to AZ Alkmaar and Hulshoff’s assistant position at FC Volendam, the pair were reacquainted at Feyenoord. Initially Hulshoff was leading the U21s but within a year had officially joined Slot’s first-team coaching setup.
Some elements just go perfectly together and the Slot-Hulshoff concoction is exactly that.
Liverpool’s field trainer
A vital ingredient that has brewed during their 10 years working together is the mutual trust between them. Indeed, Slot himself has stated that “because we’ve worked together for such a long time, both of us know exactly what we want when it comes to a game model and playing style.”
The two don’t just get along but share the same footballing philosophies, such as the importance of overloading parts of the pitch when in possession and in winning the ball back quickly when out of it.
This means they can both develop ideas together and challenge one another in equal measure. It isn’t a case of Slot acting like Hulshoff’s micro-managing superior.
This ever-developing trust from Slot that Hulshoff understands his principles has now manifested itself at Liverpool into the latter becoming the ‘field’ trainer.
In other words, Hulshoff is the main voice in training sessions and plays a key part in player development.
His role includes working one-to-one with players and in small groups, and supporting analysis away from the training pitch using video clips. It is reported that Hulshoff is the one who conducts opposition analysis and, whilst Slot will always lead meetings, his No. 2 will also be asked to partake in post-match debriefs.
This recent Hulshoff trajectory began back in Rotterdam. Even when he was still officially U21s manager he was being invited by Slot twice a week to help oversee first-team training. Then, once promoted to the senior staff, he would gradually start to prepare more and more parts of training based on Slot’s vision.
In the same way a company CEO might spot a talent and nurture them by gradually increasing their responsibilities, Slot has helped enable a motivated colleague who he can leave to execute what he wants.
It is a ‘watching brief’ approach taken by successful managers from the past such as Sir Alex Ferguson, who was known to let his coaches run the training sessions so he could properly assess his players technically, physically and mentally.
In addition to being dedicated, organised and very open to innovation, Hulshoff is tactically astute. On top of his leadership at the AXA Training Centre, he is able to support Slot with spotting problems in a game.
He is undoubtedly a factor in Slot’s ability to act proactively in matches – a vital trait for any top coach.
It won’t come as a surprise based on his main responsibilities that Hulshoff is excellent at not just training players individually but building strong relationships with them. He can spot and develop specific areas for improvement offensively and defensively and gain the player’s trust in the same way he has with his boss.
It shouldn’t be underestimated how important it is for squad morale that players feel comfortable speaking honestly with the coaching team, not just Slot.
More Krawietz than Lijnders
This combination of expertise is perhaps what motivated Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman to ask Hulshoff to join his staff after only six months as assistant at Feyenoord.
The man from Leeuwarden, in the north of the Netherlands, impressed and would have stayed for longer than just the 12 games if it hadn’t been for him agreeing to Slot’s call to follow him to Merseyside in 2024.
That decision in itself underlines the strength of his commitment to Slot’s project.
It also should be noted that this experience with the Oranje helped him to strengthen bonds with the Dutch contingent in the squad of Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch, and of course will have further smoothed the early months of Jeremie Frimpong‘s time at the club.
As for the future, many may assume that a man of Hulshoff’s talent and experience will eventually begin fluttering his eyelids at a suitable role as the main man at a club, in the way Mikel Arteta did at Man City or, closer to home, both Pepijn Lijnders and John Heitinga at Liverpool.
However his loyalty to Slot may well keep him at Anfield for many years yet – with their relationship more akin to that of Klopp and Peter Krawietz.
It is said that Hulshoff is a man who has a clear understanding of where his strengths lie, which has for now stemmed any aspirations for managerial roles elsewhere.
For Liverpool fans, the Dutch influence on the club’s recent achievements – from key players to the manager in the dugout – is clearly evident.
Yet success isn’t just about the performers on stage in the glow of the spotlight. It’s also about those backstage, helping to make everything happen.
Both in his early career, then at Feyenoord and now at Liverpool, there has been one man at Slot’s side.
If Liverpool are to defend their Premier League title and lift further trophies, Hulshoff will undoubtedly be crucial to the cause.
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