Liverpool appoint Brazil legend Taffarel as goalkeeping coach to work alongside Alisson

Liverpool have appointed Brazilian legend Claudio Taffarel as the club’s new senior goalkeeping coach.

The 55-year-old, a World Cup winner with the Selecao in 1994, will move to Anfield after finalising a work permit this week. Taffarel will combine his Reds duties with his role with the Brazil national team.

He will work alongside the Reds’ current goalkeeping coaches, John Achterberg and Jack Robinson, as part of the club’s first-team staff, but GOAL understands the arrival of Taffarel has been driven in no small part by Alisson Becker, who signed a new six-year deal with the Reds in the summer.

What’s the story?

Taffarel is one of the most decorated goalkeepers in Brazilian history, winning 101 caps and lifting two Copas America, as well as the World Cup in the USA in 1994.

At club level he played for the likes of Parma, Reggiana and Galatasaray, with whom he later worked as a coach and had two short spells as interim manager. He left the Turkish side in 2019.

He has worked as goalkeeping coach for the Brazilian national team since 2014, and has struck up a strong relationship with Alisson as a result. 

GOAL understands Taffarel visited Liverpool’s AXA Training Centre last week having held initial discussions with the club over a potential role during the summer. 

What does it mean for Liverpool's goalkeeping coaches?

Taffarel’s appointment will certainly be welcomed by Alisson, though what it means for Achterberg, in particular, remains to be seen, especially in the long run. 

The Dutchman has been at Anfield since 2009, and has worked with the first team since 2011. He has a strong relationship with Jurgen Klopp, and is popular with both players and staff, known for his passion, dedication and encyclopaedic knowledge of goalkeepers across the world.

Robinson, meanwhile, joined as assistant goalkeeping coach in 2018, having previously worked for the English FA. 

For now, it is understood that Taffarel will work alongside those two, though it is no coincidence, surely, that he has arrived just a few months after Alisson committed his long-term future to the club.

Further reading 

• Could Liverpool end Benitez's unhappy Everton experiment?
• Klopp takes aim at Everton
• Liverpool's 'Red Hurricane' blows Southampton away