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Liverpool Hire Brazil Legend Claudio Taffarel As New Goalkeeping Coach

Alisson Becker is being credited with helping secure the move for the 55-year-old.

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Liverpool v Southampton - Premier League Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images

Liverpool confirmed the hiring of Claudio Taffarel to be their new goalkeeping coach after his work permit went through. The former Brazilian international, who won the World Cup in 1994, was urged to take the job by fellow countryman and star Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker.

Taffarel joins John Achterberg and Jack Robinson as senior goalkeeping coach for the team. He will divide his duties between the Reds and the Brazil national team during international periods while the team trains for the World Cup.

Klopp explained that his appointment was a way to service his exceptional roster of goalkeepers with a seasoned veteran.

“The idea is that, in our opinion, we have now in a lot of positions the best we can imagine,” Klopp told the official site.

“We want to build kind of our own philosophy in goalkeeping because we all agree it’s its own game, so that’s why we wanted to have another completely different view on it.

“We spoke to Ali because two of the best goalies in the world are Brazilians and so we found a solution with bringing in Taffarel as a really nice addition to our whole coaching staff. We really think it can give us just a different view again, to look at different things.We really want to really be a proper goalkeeping school in world football and so that’s why we’re bringing in a third very, very experienced goalkeeper coach.”

Klopp referred to Alisson as the “best goalkeeper in the world.” Therefore, it makes sense to find a way to bring in a coach that Alisson is familiar with and already values to help him continue to grow with the club.

Alisson’s arrival heralded a turn from goalkeeping being a weakness for Liverpool to it being one of the team’s key strengths. Maintaining that high level of performance, not just for Alisson, but across the board for all of their goalkeepers, is rightfully a priority as the club moves forward.

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