The sight of Liverpool’s goalkeepers wearing vision-impeding goggles during pre-season training may have left many feeling somewhat bemused.
Following Jurgen Klopp’s openness to engaging with experts in various fields in order to build marginal gains, it seems Arne Slot has opted to follow suit.
The appointment of new goalkeeping coach Fabian Otte has already seen the Reds embrace innovative ideas around goalkeeper coaching.
“With his academic background, Otte has been consistent in putting scientific theory into practice and looks set to bring a fresh perspective to Liverpool’s goalkeeping coaching following John Achterberg’s departure in the summer after 15 years at the club,” Mark Carey wrote for The Athletic.
The reporter went on to add: “Slot’s predecessor Jurgen Klopp was open-minded in his outlook on Liverpool’s training routine and had a track record of working with individuals who had fresh, innovative ideas.
“Specialist throw-in coach Thomas Gronnemark worked with the club for five years, while Klopp called upon the help of surfer Sebastian Steudtner to work on breathing exercises with his squad ahead of the 2019/20 campaign. Most recently, Dr Niklas Hausler and Patrick Hantschke, co-founders of Neuro11, worked with Liverpool to help them improve at penalties – attaching electrodes to players’ heads to measure brain activity and assist with getting them “in the zone” for spot kicks by reaching their optimal mental state.
“It is clear that Slot is similarly keen to surround himself with experts within their respective fields to maximise high performance, and the arrival of Otte looks set to provide a fresh dynamic to Liverpool’s coaching staff.”
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The Merseysiders are set to kick off their American tour in Pittsburgh with a clash against La Liga outfit Real Betis on July 26.
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We’re all for testing our goalkeeping department in new ways if it means we see an improvement in performance on the pitch.
The fact that European rivals Bayern Munich have already incorporated elements of this in their goalkeeping, coaching courtesy of Michael Rechner, more than indicates the importance of this approach.
It’s mad to think we could make arguably one of the greatest Premier League goalkeepers of all time in Alisson Becker even more superior in his field.
We’re all here for it.
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