By Emanuele Giulianelli

John Achterberg is the Dutch goalkeeping coach of Liverpool FC, the team Champions of Europe in charge.

As described on the official club’s website, he joined Liverpool's backroom staff in June 2009 after making the short trip across the Mersey from Wirral neighbours Tranmere Rovers.

After two years with the reserve team, in 2011 he become the First-team goalkeeping coach. We have spoken, in exclusive with him, for the Italian blog of 888sport!

How Has The Goalkeeper Role Evolved Over The Years?

"In our club, not in a different way than the past: we look for the all-round keeper who can play with feet, make saves, play behind the defense, sweep up, go up for crosses and is good in decision making.

"Basically, we look for the full package, so the market is not so big."

Do You Agree With Gasperini That Thinks The Future Of Football Is The Goalkeeper That Goes Up, In The Middle Of Two CBs, In Order To Start Attacks?

"If a football team use the goalkeeper as a player in buildup, possession and make the triangles to create options to play or in order to be a receiver in the game and so play out the box at times, again depend on the team you play for and their philosophy."

Playing Well With Feet Is Becoming More And More Important - Is It Essential Or Is There Still Room For Classic Goalkeepers?

"In my opinion, you have to create and develop a goalkeeper who can dominate all the aspects as named before! Making match winning saves is still a very important part of the keeper’s job, as having a jumping power speed reaction.

"If the keeper has learned and developed all the aspects of his role, he can play in every team. If a coach doesn’t teach him all the aspects, this fact will give limited options to the goalkeeper for which team he could play for."

Who Are, In Your Opinion, The Top Three Goalkeepers In World Football?

"I think Alisson was the best goalkeeper last season, as recognized by all the trophies he won!

"Then, you have a lot of keepers that, at the highest level, could win the trophy of the best, if they have a top season: Neuer, ter Stegen, Ederson, Neto, de Gea, Oblak, Courtois, Mignolet, Szczesny, Schmeichel. And I might forget a few other keepers.

"They all have individual good skills, and some aspects that make them suitable to play for many teams. Of course, I’m not here to tell what I think about them or to criticize other goalkeepers!"

Speaking About Alisson - He Showed Great Things At Roma But Has Improved Further At Liverpool - How Do You Work With Him?

"My philosophy is to prepare the keeper for the upcoming opponent team.

"We analyze together with the match analyst department the opponent skills and the attitudes of their individual players, than how the team play and, based on this, I prepare the next training session were we tell Alisson what we can expect to happen in the game and make some sessions to work on this.

"So, he’s able to know what kind of situations will happen in the game and he knows what he has to do and how he could deal with the situations we have practiced.

"I also speak to Alisson, in order to know from him what he wants and needs and which aspects he wants us to work on to improve.

"Because I consider it as a teamwork, we as coaches must provide everything to help the keeper to be ready for every match and in the best conditions as he can. Our aim is always to be better and improve."

Which Aspect Do You Think He Needs To Work On Most?

"He is a pretty all-round keeper; we always talk about his goalkeeping skills and work, but this is private."

Are You Happy With The Job With The Job He Is Doing?

"We always want to develop and get better."

The Role Of The Goalkeeping Coach Is Becoming More Important And Crucial Than In The Past - Do You Agree?

"Goalkeeping coach is a part of the coaching team. The manager Jurgen Klopp is the most important among us, he is the leader of the team.

"I try to help and support him, together with the team assistant managers, fitness coaches, nutrition support and medicals."

Out Of Curiosity - How Do You Motivate The 2nd And 3rd Goalkeepers? How Do You Make Them Feel Concentrated And Ready For Action?

"I behave in the training with them the same as I do with the first-choice keeper: we are all part of the team and we all need to be ready to play when needed.

"So, every goalkeeper in our team get the same attention and treatment, everyone works in order to stay fit and be ready when needed."

Liverpool Have A Top Class Backup Goalkeeper - What Do You Think About The Clubs That Regularly Alternate Two Different Goalkeepers?

"It’s important to find games for our second and even for the third-choice goalkeeper, so that they can be ready if we need them to play.

"And that’s why in many clubs use to alternate them in the many competition they compete; and that’s what we do too."

Three Names Of Goalkeepers To Look Out For In The Future

"There are a few ones we are following, as we always try to find the best young goalkeepers around the world for the future.

"Like every top club, you always look out for the next best. We work on this with the scouting department, but don’t do it in public."

Last question: Is The Role Of The Goalkeeper Different In The Premier League To The Champions League?

"The only difference is that in the Premier League more is allowed physical in challenges, but the way of playing and the goalkeeping style we have don’t change."

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Rui Vieira / AP Photo*

The Magic of the Cup is either alive and well or a misty-eyed memory depending on who you listen to. Each January, the criticism or applause of managers ripples around football media circles depending on how seriously they have taken the FA Cup.

Disrespecting the eldest cup competition in the world is a cardinal sin in some quarters. Others see rotation as a necessary evil. It provokes conversations about the future of the competition, whether it’s as good as it once was, and if changes need to be made.

A lot of clubs see the FA Cup Third Round as a chance to rotate, with some managers almost completely altering the XI as Jurgen Klopp did for the Merseyside derby on Sunday.

The top teams can usually afford it – wholesale changes carry a greater risk for others.

The 46-match Championship schedule tempts managers to tinker, as do the riches of the Premier League for clubs eyeing promotion or looking to evade relegation. Teams in European action have more glamorous fish to fry.

Concern about the competition isn’t a new thing. If anything, these conversations have become an FA Cup tradition, like interviews with previous cupset heroes and lower league teams being described by their part-time jobs.

Just as everyone has their favourite FA Cup tips, every fan of British football has a verdict on if the tournament needs fixing and how to do so.

The easiest way to pique interest is money. Football clubs are businesses, and their decisions are financially motivated more often than not.

With the billions in English football, it should be feasible to improve the monetary rewards for cup progress, but it isn’t something we can expect to see change notably any time soon.

It’s hard to envisage a world where the Premier League shares its wealth to enhance the FA Cup jackpot. Other incentives have been put forward over the years, though few have gained any traction.

The clamour for a top four spot – find the latest Champions League odds in 888’s sports betting – has led to a suggestion of rewarding a Champions League place for the winners. The result would see only the top three Premier League clubs playing in Europe’s elite competition.

There are issues with deducting a Champions League place from the Premier League – it wouldn’t be a popular move with the Premier League or the top clubs. It doesn’t necessarily change much.

The ‘big six’ aren’t the issue with the FA Cup. It’s the teams below them that need to be convinced to go for the competition rather than battle for that extra prize money associated with finishing a spot or two higher in the top flight.

The top six don’t have an FA Cup problem – only two non-top-six clubs (Wigan and Everton) have won the Cup since Wimbledon’s great final upset in 1988.

Awarding a Champions League spot, and the riches that come with that, might convince some teams to take it a bit more seriously, but it isn’t a realistic proposal at this juncture and would be unlikely to drastically change anything anyway.

If the eight or nine changes made by top six managers is a concern, there’s an obvious solution to that. English football doesn’t do enough to help its teams in Europe, often making the schedule trickier than it needs to be.

Limiting fixture congestion will make it easier for the top managers to play their best players in the cup – moving Premier League fixtures either side of European matches is a good start, and something most European leagues already do.

Arduous schedules are part of the problem for the rest of the Premier League and Championship, too.

The FA Cup Third Round falls just days after the Christmas and New Year period, when squads are put through a gruelling fortnight or so that often results in injuries and, if not, severe fatigue.

Changing the Third Round dates would help this, but such is the tradition of the competition, it isn’t going to go down well with everyone.

The timing of the Third Round just exaggerates the decisions managers have to make. Many Premier League managers were making major changes from match to match over the Christmas period – it shouldn’t be a shock when they do the same for the FA Cup.

The FA Cup is fighting for space on an already packed schedule, tussling with television companies squeezing matches in and more lucrative tournaments.

Replays are another layer that deter Premier League managers – the risk of an extra fixture without progressing is a nightmare in the mid-winter months. Again, though, will replays realistically be scrapped considering their financial importance to smaller clubs?

Seeding could be an option to make the competition more appealing to non-top-six clubs, giving them a better chance of a favourable run to the latter stages. It would take away the drama of the draw, however, and change the essence of the Cup.

There are no easy solutions, and no alterations that will please everyone. Keeping FA Cup third round shocks and luring Premier League managers to prioritise the competition is an almost impossible balancing act.

Tweaking the schedule should help. It will minimise the excuse of rest. To really change how the competition is viewed, though, the FA Cup has to find a way to rival the Premier League.

Money rules football. Without increased financial incentivisation, the FA Cup will remain an inconvenience for many Premier League clubs.

 

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Rui Vieira / AP Photo*