Achterberg: Retaining Taffarel on coaching staff a key factor in keeping Alisson at Liverpool

John Achterburg says the decision to keep Claudio Taffarel as part of the goalkeeping staff is a major reason why Alisson turned down an opportunity to head to the Saudi League this summer.

Achterburg was the long standing Liverpool goalkeeping coach lwho left the club when his contract expired at the end of last season to head to team up with Steven Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq.

With a new manager in Arne Slot naturally bringing members of his own backroom to join him, there was going to be some upheaval and long standing working relationships ending.

Speaking to The Football Historian Podcast (per the The Mirror),  Achterburg said that change is normal in situations like this, but that retaining the services of the 1994 World Cup winner on the coaching staff was crucial for keeping Alisson.

“It’s a good thing to do. In the end, it was the right thing as well, because obviously Liverpool wanted to change the whole department basically.

“They were smart to at least keep Taffarel, because if they would also change Taffarel, they probably would have told Ali to find a new club basically. You have to be smart as well. It’s good, because Taffa’s a really good guy and it’s perfect that he’s there for them.”

The Dutchman who had been with the Reds since 2009 also stated that the outstanding Brazilian was incredibly keen to keep him at the club, but Achterburg believed the time the right for a clean break and a fresh start.

“Ali wanted me to stay, he wanted to keep the whole department. The first day [Klopp’s news] went out was a shock for everyone, and Ali said ‘yeah John, but I don’t want to change anything, I want to keep everything.

“‘I understand’, I said, but when this happened, my contract was finished at the end of the season and I didn’t want to gamble on it, if you like, and hope and see what would happen. I told Ali, ‘yeah I have the chance to do this new job’.

"Ali asked me to really wait with it, if I could, because he wanted to keep me. But I had the family in the house pretty early with the offer, we talked, obviously I’m joining Stevie, and I said ‘I like the idea as well, to do that.

“He asked me to help make a goalkeeper department and try to improve the goalies. It’s a good adventure, to try creating Saudi goalies.”