Unveiling Liverpool Football Club's Next Manager: Who's in the Running
Liverpool FC's Potential Manager: Tactical Fit, Players' Roles, and Klopp's Successor Speculations.
Liverpool Football Club has found a potential new manager to replace Jurgen Klopp.
Klopp has transformed the Mersey side from struggling in the Premier League to winning Champions League titles and league trophies. Despite numerous triumphs throughout his tenure at the club, he will leave Liverpool by the end of the season.
Liverpool fans are now guessing who will replace Klopp with countless names being reported in the media and online. However, the club has set its sights on Rúben Amorim to possibly take over from the legendary German manager. Here is a look at Liverpool’s new potential manager.
Style of play
Amorim, who is currently the manager of Portuguese side Sporting, has always played in the 3-4-3 system. Amorim requires two wide centre-backs who have good technical skills in dribbling the ball from the defence to attack and have strong athleticism. Furthermore, having one centre-back who has good passing skills.
Amorim uses three centre-backs to bait the opposition’s attack to press and create space in the midfield. Yet his squad has the versatility to play long balls when opposition teams intend to use a high press. Playing long balls to the attack requires a striker who can attack the ball from the air, which Sporting forward Einar Gyökeres has done to perfection this year, scoring 22 goals and creating 10 assists in Liga Portugal.1 Playing long balls counters a team using a high press because space is abundant in the opposition’s half of the pitch.
Amorim’s style is perfect for Liverpool. Centre-back Virgil van Dijk completes 7.18 long balls per 90. Van Dijk could easily play a similar role to Sporting centre-back Sebastián Coates who plays long balls to the attack. Furthermore, Liverpool centre-backs Joe Gomez and Ibrahima Konaté have the technical skills and athletic ability to play in his starting 11. Gomez has won 30 aerial battles and lost 11 this season.2 While Konaté has won 73 aerial duels and lost 29.3
Midfield
Amorim uses a double pivot in the midfield. He sets his team with two central defensive midfielders. Morten Hjulmand, who rarely vacates the central areas of the pitch, and partnering him often is Hidemasa Morita, a high-touch midfielder with qualities similar to Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva.
Morita often draws the attention of opposition players and uses Hjulmand as a shield, seeking space to continue Sporting’s attack. Amorim’s style allows the side to be tidy and direct, however, counters teams who are aggressive. Creating the perfect blend between attack and defence.
Liverpool has two players who have similar attributes to the pair: Wataru Endo and Alexis Mac Allister. Endo has strong positional awareness to remain central, while Mac Allister knits passes in the middle of the park and has the freedom to break lines. Furthermore, comes back to defend when Liverpool is under attack.
Wingbacks
Amorim has made some tweaks to his system compared to last year. During last season Coates would often play in the midfield while building the play. In addition, Morita would play wide and the wingbacks would stay high.
Sporting now plays in a 3-2-5 system. This could mean Liverpool fans might see a more aggressive Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold. Allowing Robertson to bomb down the pitch and give Trent the freedom to cross into the box for attackers to score. Both these players would be crucial in giving Liverpool width on the attack. Allowing Trent to stay wide could be the perfect set-up also for an ageing Mo Salah.
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Forwards
This season Amorim has allowed Sporting forward Marcus Edwards to play in a more central position. Which is where Salah plays at his best in the Premier League. Allowing Edwards to play out in the wide would allow the opposition team full-back to keep an eye on him and remain in position. However, having him play in that more narrow position creates an awkwardness for opposition teams, because the full-back is out of position. Just imagine Salah running the wings and staying central during matches, it would be scary for almost any team in the Premier League.
Another position that we haven’t discussed in Amorim’s team is winger Pedro Gonçalves. Gonçalves plays an interesting role, instead of going narrow during matches, he often will move into the number ten position, creating chances for Gyökeres during games. He created a massive number of goals this season managing 11 assists in 26 games.4 A player who I believe could easily play this role for Liverpool would be Dominik Szoboszlai.
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Conclusion
Do I think Amorim is a perfect fit for Liverpool? I am not sure. However, I do like him being Liverpool’s new coach. He is a very tactical manager and has a system that would fit the squad very well. He has a wide depth of players he could use such as Diogo Jota, Harvey Elliott, and Curtis Jones. I could also easily see his forwards scoring between 60 and 70 goals a season. Creating a more competitive Premier League and fear in Europe.
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Viktor Gyökeres - https://www.transfermarkt.com/viktor-gyokeres/leistungsdaten/spieler/325443
Joe Gomez - https://www.premierleague.com/players/10651/Joe-Gomez/stats?co=1&se=578
Ibrahima Konaté - https://www.premierleague.com/players/23593/Ibrahima-Konat%C3%A9/stats?co=1&se=578
Pedro Gonçalves - https://www.transfermarkt.com/pedro-goncalves/leistungsdaten/spieler/426620