Reds’ Assistant Manager Pep Lijnders, in his new book, has revealed one name who may become Captain in near future for Liverpool FC.
Liverpool took part in every game possible last season. And they ended the season winning the Carabao and FA Cups, coming in second place after a dramatic last day in the Premier League, and reaching the Champions League final.
Pep Lijnders kept track of all the highs and lows from preseason practice until the Paris exhibition.
Lijnders discusses the leadership group within the team. And he also talks about the potential role Trent Alexander-Arnold may play in the future in this serialization of his fantastic new book, “Intensity: Inside Liverpool FC – Our Identity.”
There were only two days left until the start of the season and only 48 hours until kickoff at Norwich. Milner declared after practice, “If we play like we trained today, we will be flying.”
What’s wrong with these kinds of sessions? It makes selecting the first 11 much more difficult.
We were witnessing the advantages of a full six-week preseason. If people want to raise the caliber of the game, they should consider allowing for this more frequently.
Jürgen texted me that evening with the outcome of the votes for the players’ committee. Behind our captain Hendo, vice-captain Milner, and leader Virgil, there were three open positions.
Qualities that will make TAA a future Liverpool Captain
Trent being there made me very happy. A step closer to becoming our future captain, he should now stick close to Milner to absorb as much as he can this year because it’s the next phase in his growth. The other two were Robbo and Ali.
In the preseason, Trent came to speak with me, and we spent an hour talking about his game.
He also wanted to make sure that Jürgen and I knew that he wanted to be in now. And he did not want to be left out because he was young or perhaps a little less outspoken before games than others. Trent is in, TOP; he represents so much of our club, I retorted to the boss.
He has an innate technical talent even at the young age of 15. He possessed all the qualities I admired in people—a drive to succeed, a passion for growth—but occasionally, his emotions overcame him rather than the other way around.
Trent is aggressive but in a good way. If anyone embodies the words of Bill Shankly, “Playing at the top level is not pressure, it is a reward,” it is him.
Every training session, I still notice the same fire in his eyes. But I no longer recognize the young man; instead, I see a leader, someone who has emotional control, and a potential captain. A model of leadership.
