Slot names first three assistants at Liverpool
Written by Training Ground Guru — June 19, 2024
Sipke Hulshoff, Ruben Peeters and Fabian Otte have been announced as the first additions to Arne Slot's new backroom team at Liverpool.
Seven assistants left Anfield along with legendary boss Jürgen Klopp at the end of last season: Peter Krawietz (Assistant), Pep Lijnders (Assistant), John Achterberg (Goalkeeper Coach), Vitor Matos (Development Coach), Andreas Kornmayer (Head of Fitness and Conditioning), Andreas Schlumberger (Head of Recovery and Performance) and Jack Robinson (Assistant Goalkeeper Coach).
Now Slot has named his first three assistants, with more to come:
- Sipke Hulshoff (First Assistant Coach): The 49-year-old has worked as Slot’s number two at Feyenoord since 2022. Also served as Ronald Koeman's assistant with Holland before stepping down from that position earlier this year.
- Ruben Peeters (Lead Physical Performance Coach). Head of Performance at Feyenoord under Slot for three years, having previously worked at Genk.
- Fabian Otte (Head of First-Team Goalkeeper Coaching): Knows England well, having been Assistant Goalkeeper Coach under Sean Dyche at Burnley in the 2020/21 season. Has been Head Goalkeeper Coach for the USA men’s national team for the last 10 months and will join Liverpool after this summer's Copa America.
Slot said: "Of course, you want to take some people with you as well because they know who you are, they know your playing style and they can translate this to the other people in the staff as well.
“But if you go to a club like Liverpool, you can assume – and I already noticed that – that there are a lot of good people working here as well.
"So, we are going to use hopefully the best of both worlds to implement a few things from us and to use the knowledge that is inside this club already because of the nine years Jürgen [Klopp] and his staff worked here.
"I bring in Sipke Hulshoff, who's been my assistant for a few years now at Feyenoord. I worked with him long ago, I worked with him at Cambuur Leeuwarden as well. He was the assistant of Ronald Koeman of the Dutch national team as well, but he is going to join me now from the start.
“A bit older than me, I think, not so much but a bit older than me. Because we work together for such a long time, I think the both of us know exactly what we want when it comes to game model, playing style – and I think that helps.
"Then we will bring in a performance coach, Ruben Peeters, who is going to help me and the club with – how would I put this in English words? – the way we are working on the physical side. Us three have worked together at Feyenoord for three years now and we know how we want to work, which is normal.
"And then there's a replacement in the goalkeeping staff as well – we've brought in Fabian Otte, who was working at Borussia Monchengladbach and is still now with the USA team at the Copa America.
"So those are the first positions we filled in and I think we are still looking for one or two other positions. Richard [Hughes] and me are calling each other a lot, not only about this but also about the positions we still have to fill in."