Portuguese newspaper Record have this week interviewed Liverpool’s elite development coach Vitor Matos.
It’s only been a couple of months since the 31-year-old joined the club, and most of the questions were about what his job is all about, and his relationship with Jurgen Klopp.
First speaking of his arrival at the club, Vitor Matos claimed he’s working to have a big knowledge of all the squads Liverpool have at the training centre.
“It’s been fantastic. The club has a big culture of perfectionism and winning. The way I was welcomed was fantastic, everyone made me feel at home and cared about my comfort, even at family level,” Vitor Matos told Record. “I tried to get to know the U23 and U18 teams in depth, understand the dynamics in which the first team works, and start connecting the departments in the best way.”
Then he was asked about his real role among the club’s staff.
“I am the development coach of elite players. In addition to being an assistant to the first team, I have concerns about the academy players. My main goal is the development of the most talented players, the elite players. You can do this in many ways, but I believe the best is collectively. My job is to bridge the gap between the academy and the first team, to bring the under-23 and under-18 teams together in terms of methodology to the first team, and to have more individual concerns about the players the club thinks are closer to the first team.
“Liverpool felt the need to have someone who could combine collective concerns with individual concerns, someone who knew the training methodology and the idea of the game. From there came the invitation from Jurgen Klopp and Pepijn Lijnders and it turned out to be something natural.”
On Jurgen Klopp, Vitor Matos says he’s been learning from the German manager every day since joining.
“Jurgen is a fantastic person with a huge human side. We can feel his character in every aspect of the club and he has the same stance at all times, whether with players or fans. I feel like I have a masterclass every day. It’s good to have organisation in terms of gameplay and tactics, but Jurgen can add a lot of passion to it all.”
He’s also shown some big appreciation for the compliments made by Klopp and Pep Lijnders after his arrival at the club.
“They are two fantastic people and are very concerned about making everyone feel involved. That was fantastic. Of course I felt good about the compliments, but more important than that is feeling that I have been welcomed with open arms and that it makes sense to them that I am there. The relationship that existed from the beginning was the most important and motivates me to try to live up to the expectations they set and place on me.”
Matos was also asked about his plans for the future, but he claims to be totally concentrated at his work at Liverpool: “Football is like life, everything is circumstantial. We build opportunities, but we don’t know when they come. I’m now motivated and focused on doing the best I can at Liverpool, helping the club to the fullest in my duties.”
