Liverpool makes changes to Arne Slot's coaching team and hires Giovanni van Bronckhorst as assistant
Van Bronckhorst, who played for Arsenal and Barcelona during a distinguished career, won titles as a coach in the Netherlands with Feyenoord and Scotland with Rangers.
His most recent role was as coach of Turkish team Besiktas.
Slot has made changes to his backroom staff after winning the Premier League title in his first season in charge at Anfield.
As well as Van Bronckhorst, Liverpool also confirmed the arrival of Xavi Valero for his second spell at the club. He will take over the role of head of first team goalkeeper coaching.
Goalkeeper coaches Fabian Otte and Claudio Taffarel will leave the club, Liverpool said.
Thursdays
Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
34 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Euro 2025: Denmark meets Sweden again one month after being routed 6-1
GENEVA (AP) — Losing 6-1 in your last game before a major soccer tournament to the team that also will be your first opponent is not optimal. It is the challenge facing Denmark players Friday when they open their Women's European Championship campaign in Geneva against Sweden. Germany and Poland also are in Group C and play Friday in St. Gallen. 'The things that hurt the most is what teaches you,' Denmark coach Andrée Jeglertz said Thursday in translated comments. 'I am convinced we will see a completely different kind of performance.' Sweden raced to a three-goal lead on Denmark inside 11 minutes on June 3 when winning a Nations League group was at stake, in order to advance to the semifinals later this year. Star forward Stina Blackstenius opened the scoring in the first minute and went on to complete her hat trick. That's all forgotten now insisted Kosovare Asllani, who was captain that night of a Sweden team missing its key defender Magdalena Eriksson. 'It's a one-off that we beat them by 6-1,' Asllani said Thursday. 'We also feel like we've put that match behind us.' Denmark defender Stine Ballisager, who got a close-up view of Sweden's rampant attack, dismissed the risk of focusing on the heavy defeat: 'We know what we stand for.' 'What you build in two years isn't demolished in one match,' coach Jeglertz said, while acknowledging 'after the game, yes, it was tough. 'We have dealt with it in a good way,' said the Denmark coach, who is Swedish. 'It's amazing that we have the opportunity to play the same opponent again without any match in between.' Sweden coach's farewell Sweden coach Peter Gerhardsson was elusive about planning for a quick rematch with the same tactics, suggesting his past philosophy in club soccer was 'always change a winning team.' Gerhardsson will leave after the tournament. In his eight-year tenure, Sweden was twice a World Cup semifinalist, took the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics and reached the Euro 2022 semifinals. 'We've become more of a playmaking team,' Asllani said of the coach's influence. 'We have the courage to play more fun football, more intense football if you like.' But the 6-1? 'That's not going to matter at all (Friday),' she said. Asllani reaches 200 The 35-year-old midfielder's 200th game for the national team arrives in what she says will be her last tournament. 'Its going to be very special,' Asllani said of her 'enormous sense of pride' reaching the landmark. 'It's a magical number to achieve in a career.' Eriksson vs Harder The duel between Sweden defender Eriksson and Denmark star forward Pernille Harder is much-anticipated duel. The stellar veterans have been a couple for more than a decade and are teammates at Bayern Munich. 'It's quite a special situation,' Harder told tournament organizer UEFA. 'We have tried this a few times before, so we know that when the game starts, we kind of forget that we are partners. We go all in.' Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Host Geneva's artwork Denmark-Sweden is the first of five Euro 2025 games in Geneva, the city which hosts the European headquarters of the United Nations and commissioned a stunning piece of public art for the tournament. Only aerial shots do justice to the painted grass image of a young girl sketching a chalk outline of a soccer field. It was created by artist Saype in a lakeside park, looking up to the 18th-century villa that hosted a 2021 diplomatic summit between then-U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin. ___ AP soccer:
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Some fans question US readiness for 2026 World Cup after Club World Cup experience
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Lifelong soccer fan Victor Dumois expressed concern about the United States co-hosting the 2026 World Cup after attending a recent Club World Cup match in Miami. 'I think after the Copa America, a weird phenomenon has occurred here,' said Dumois, who is from Spain. 'There's people that don't like the World Cup being in the United States.' The Copa America championship game last year in Miami was a security nightmare, with overheated and ticketless fans breaking down the barriers at Hard Rock Stadium to get inside. Eventually the game was played, although some paying customers never were able to get to their seats because they were occupied. Some cited the debacle as one example of how unprepared the United States is to host soccer's biggest tournament. Fast-forward to this summer and the 32-team Club World Cup hosted solely in the United States. Dumois said security was tight this time around — almost to a fault. 'In Spain, it is different, you can just have an Uber or taxi take you right up to the stadium,' Dumois said, sharing his thoughts on the Round 16 match between Real Madrid and Juventus. 'Here in Miami, they have to leave you outside and far away. There's so many layers of security, it's too much.' The Club World Cup, which is entering the quarterfinals this weekend, has served as a tune-up for the United States which, along with Canada and Mexico, will host the 2026 World Cup in cities like Miami, Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle. So far, the club tournament has not been well-attended, except for a handful of matches. A Round of 16 knockout match at Charlotte's 75,000-seat Bank of America Stadium between Fluminense and Inter Milan drew just 20,030 fans. Stadium officials allowed fans who'd purchased upper deck tickets to move down to the lower bowl. Even then, lower bowl looked half full. Empty seats have been a common sight across the country. There are variety of reasons why. First, the club tournament simply isn't as popular as the World Cup, where players are competing for their countries rather than a club team. The costs — both for games and travel — have also kept some away. And, for some, there have been lingering concerns of potential U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids at matches amid President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration. The weather hasn't helped either. Benjamin Cabral lives in Boston, but his family is from Azoras, an autonomous region of Portugal. He said if FIFA hopes to grow the game in America, a scheduling change is necessary. Due to soccer's popularity in Europe, many club matches have been played in the middle of the day so fans overseas can watch games on television or livestream in real time at night. The downside is players have been forced to play with temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) while a major heat wave gripped the States. 'If they're trying to grow their game in the US, they need to make the games later,' Cabral said. 'It's too hot out here for the players.' It hasn't been easy on fans, either. 'There's no roof, no screens, not much,' said Carlos Olguin, who made the trek from Mexico to Charlotte to watch Pachuca play Real Madrid. Next year's World Cup will be played during a similar time frame, beginning in mid-June and concluding in mid-July. Excitement surrounding the current event also remains a concern. 'The other thing in the city is that it should be more prepared for the event, because there are people who don't even know there's an event and so you go to a restaurant with the idea that there are flags, fans, more football things and there's nothing,' Olguin added of the Club World Cup. 'The city should be more prepared for the event, because there are people who don't even know there's an event.' As for the venues, spectators attending Club World Cup matches offered differing reviews of American stadiums and host cities leading up to the country hosting the World Cup for the first since 1994. 'I'll be honest, the U.S. is not ready to host the World Cup,' said Jeremy Zuniga from South Carolina. 'There's too many people coming from South America, Europe, everybody.' Others, like Rogerio Bajos from Peru, feel differently. 'I think it's been good, we haven't had any problems,' said Bajos, who also attended a CWC game in Miami. 'The parking is no problem, the security has been good. Overall, a stupendous spectacle.' Humberto Contasta from Miami said the Club World Cup should help the American co-hosts iron out some issues before next summer. Daniel Marques, who made the trek from Portugal to Charlotte for the sole purpose of watching Benfica battle Chelsea in a group play match, said he was impressed overall with how the tournament was run. Guilherme Altoe agreed. Altoe, who grew up watching World Cup matches in Brazil before moving to the United States nearly a decade ago, said he thinks the United States will put on a good event next summer. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. 'I think the United States has everything, all the infrastructure to host a World Cup,' he said. 'So we are excited to have them see all the fans from different places and have family come around and it will be a great time.' ___ Freelancers Andrew Jaime-Mendez and Max Feliu Merce contributed to this report. ___ AP soccer:
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Lewis Hamilton warns against rushing an ‘F1' movie sequel after box-office success
SILVERSTONE, England (AP) — Lewis Hamilton says he just wants to enjoy the 'F1' movie's success as he warned Thursday that rushing a sequel would be 'the worst thing we probably could do.' The seven-time Formula 1 champion was an executive producer on the film, which stars Brad Pitt as a hard-bitten racer making a late-career comeback. It became Apple's biggest box-office hit yet when it debuted with $55.6 million in North American theaters and $144 million globally over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. 'We literally just finished it, so I think the last thing we want right now is a sequel,' Hamilton said Thursday ahead of the British Grand Prix. 'It's been four years in the making. It was a lot of work, particularly for (director Joseph Kosinski). It's time away from your family, it's time away from your kids, and also you need this to just simmer for a while, you know. Like, let's enjoy it. 'I think the worst thing we probably could do is to rush into doing a sequel,' the Ferrari driver added. 'Most sequels are way worse, and so we don't need to rush it. I think if we do do a sequel, I would say let's really, really take our time in getting it even better.' Hamilton said he was bringing F1 race-track procedures to the movie business by asking for a 'debrief' on the project, in the same way a team analyzes a race before heading to the next one. 'Let's review what we did, what we could have done better,' he said. 'I don't know if they ever do that in the movie business, but it's something obviously I've learned from here.' ___ AP auto racing:
