Liverpool’s backroom team is extensive and each member has a specific role within the setup.
Jürgen Klopp leads the operation with experts from all areas who have delegated tasks and are responsible for doing their work the way they know best.
Vitor Matos, who arrived from FC Porto in October 2019, is no different. With a personal recommendation from Pep Lijnders, who had worked with the Portuguese during his time in the Primeira Liga, the 32-year-old had a good reputation.
He also came to take on the same role that Lijnders had before being promoted to right-wing Klopp.
Lijnders initially worked as a U16 coach in Liverpool before becoming Matos: the man who helps young players move from the academy in Kirkby to Melwood.
That role will be made easier once Liverpool move into their new training ground where the youth and senior teams are in the same place, but the job will remain just as important.
Both Lijnders and Matos arrived from Porto. Both had a reputation for being great developers of young players. There is five years between the two, but the similarities in their career paths are clear.
When Matos arrived in Anfield, Klopp was clear about the attraction: “He’s smart, his English is very good – which is obviously important – and he has worked in various clubs. But he was trained in Porto, which is good for us. because Pep is from there too. “
Jose Tavares, who has held a senior position in the FC Porto academy for more than a decade, worked with Lijnders and Matos at the Portuguese club.
Listen to the full podcast by Pep Lijnders and Vitor Matos by clicking HERE
On an exclusive crimson podcast, he stated: “As someone who knows Vitor and Pepijn, sure if Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool need a great coach to accept the reserve team or some other role on the first team, Vitor will be ready.
“He’s a really intelligent man and he always finds solutions and seeks how to get better every day.
“He’s got the winning culture and already knows his way around the club, so he’s one of the best assets in Liverpool for the role they needed.”
“Sometimes when you talk about friends it’s easy to say good words, but for me it’s not about the good words, it’s about the reality for me!
“The path of both and now with Vitor is proven. If he has certain challenges, he always succeeds.”
Matos has so far kept himself to himself in Anfield, as far from the spotlight as possible, with minimal public interviews.
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Tavares added: “He knows when to be in the spotlight and when to be shy. He’s a dragon when training! A real leader in the training session.
“He can look shy, but when he’s with friends and talks about football we can see Vitor grow. If Liverpool put him in the spotlight he’ll prove to be like we know him.”
It would be too easy to assume that Matos will pursue Lijnders’ success just because they both came from Porto and had similar roles.
But there are signs that the Portuguese could play an even bigger role in the years to come, as Lijnders has now taken on in his career amid the glowing reviews from Porto and Liverpool.
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