{"id":232015,"date":"2025-07-02T12:46:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T12:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/232015\/"},"modified":"2025-07-02T12:46:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T12:46:11","slug":"liverpool-announce-two-shock-departures-as-former-coach-re-joins-club-in-backroom-shake-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/232015\/","title":{"rendered":"Liverpool announce two shock departures as former coach re-joins club in backroom shake-up"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Liverpool have confirmed the appointments of Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Xavi Valero to Arne Slot&#8217;s backroom staff, with both Fabian Otte and Claudio Taffarel leaving the club<\/p>\n<p>12:57, 02 Jul 2025Updated 13:03, 02 Jul 2025<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_GettyImages-2216341131.jpg\" alt=\"Arne Slot and his coaching staff in front of the Premier League trophy.\" loading=\"eager\"  \/>Arne Slot and his coaching staff in front of the Premier League trophy.(Image: PAUL ELLIS\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Liverpool have made a number of changes to Arne Slot\u2019s backroom staff ahead of the start of pre-season, with two members of his team departing. Giovanni van Bronckhorst has been appointed as the Reds\u2019 new assistant coach following the departure of John Hetinga to take over as Ajax head coach earlier this summer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Meanwhile, both Fabian Otte and have left their roles in the goalkeeping department and departed the club.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">In their place, <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/liverpool-fc\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Liverpool<\/a> have appointed Xavi Valero as their new head of first-team goalkeeper coaching. The Spaniard returns to <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/anfield\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Anfield<\/a> after previously serving under Rafa Benitez, while he has spent the past seven years with West Ham United.<\/p>\n<p>READ MORE: <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/sport\/football\/football-news\/jarell-quansah-sends-heartfelt-message-31975000\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jarell Quansah sends heartfelt message after Liverpool exit and offers buyback hint<\/a>READ MORE: <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/sport\/football\/football-news\/jarell-quansah-joins-bayer-leverkusen-31961994\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jarell Quansah joins Bayer Leverkusen in \u00a335m transfer as Liverpool strike buyback agreement<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Joining Liverpool under his compatriot in 2007, Valero later also worked alongside Benitez at Inter Milan, Chelsea, Napoli and Real Madrid.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Van Bronckhorst\u2019s appointment is subject to receiving a visa, with the former Arsenal and Barcelona star taking a backroom role at Anfield after previously enjoying a number of successful stints as a manager.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Starting out at Feyenoord in 2015, he led the Dutch club to the Eredivisie title in 2016\/17 and also won two KNVB Cups and two Johan Cruyff Shields.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">After a stint in China with Guangzhou R&amp;F, the 50-year-old took over at Rangers in 2021 as he won the Scottish Cup and led them to the <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/europa-league\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Europa League<\/a> final in his first season in charge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Meanwhile, taking over as Besiktas manager last summer, he won the Turkish Super Cup with the club before departing in November.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Otte leaves Liverpool after only just one season with the club, having taken over as head of first-team goalkeeper coaching last summer following the departures of John Achterberg and Jack Robinson.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Meanwhile, Taffarel, who famously won the World Cup with Brazil in 1994, initially joined <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/jurgen-klopp\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Jurgen Klopp<\/a>\u2019s backroom team in 2021 and worked alongside the Reds\u2019 goalkeepers as they won the <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/barclays-premier-league\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Premier League<\/a> title, two League Cups and the <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/fa-cup\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">FA Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The 59-year-old is known to boast a close relationship with first-choice goalkeeper Alisson Becker, having also worked alongside him with the national team.<\/p>\n<p>LFC Istanbul 20th Anniversary special edition, on sale now<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">It was and it will be the best final ever,\u201d says Rafa Benitez about Liverpool\u2019s fifth European Cup win in 2005. It\u2019s now 20 years since the Reds defied the odds to overcome a 3-0 half-time deficit to AC Milan in Istanbul to triumph on penalties.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">In this special Liverpool Echo <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/shop.regionalnewspapers.co.uk\/liverpool-fc-istanbul-20-years-on-4754-p.asp?utm_source=LFC+-+Istanbul+20+years-All&amp;utm_medium=LFC-Istanbul+20+years-Echo-Factbox&amp;utm_campaign=LFC+Istanbul+20+Years&amp;utm_id=LFC+Istanbul+20+Years\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">48-page celebration<\/a> of the Miracle of Istanbul we bring you the inside story of how it was achieved, as told by the people who were there.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1751460371_769_0_LIVERPOOL-ISTANBUL.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Click<a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/shop.regionalnewspapers.co.uk\/liverpool-fc-istanbul-20-years-on-4754-p.asp?utm_source=LFC+-+Istanbul+20+years-All&amp;utm_medium=LFC-Istanbul+20+years-Echo-Factbox&amp;utm_campaign=LFC+Istanbul+20+Years&amp;utm_id=LFC+Istanbul+20+Years\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\"> HERE <\/a>to buy online and have it delivered directly to your door, or you can purchase it in participating supermarkets, high street retailers and independent newsagents on Merseyside, in Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland from July 2, 2025. Online postage and packaging costs apply.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Confirming the changes to Slot\u2019s backroom staff in a club statement, Liverpool paid tribute to both the departing Otte and Taffarel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">It read: \u201cEveryone at LFC thanks Fabian and Claudio for their contributions and wishes them the best for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Liverpool have confirmed the appointments of Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Xavi Valero to Arne Slot&#8217;s backroom staff, with&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":232016,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8815],"tags":[748,393,4884,179,763,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-232015","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-liverpool","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-liverpool","12":"tag-liverpool-fc","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114783714372229298","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232015"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232015\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}