'Everybody trusts him': how Alisson became Liverpool's No 1 upgrade | Sachin Nakrani

Last Sunday Liverpool’s social media team released a video marking the two-year anniversary of Alisson’s arrival at the club. Across 35 seconds it displayed a rapid-fire collection of the Brazilian’s best saves, all played out to a Samba beat, and with the man himself shouting: “We celebrate now!” into the camera at the end.

It was an exciting, high-octane way to celebrate Alisson’s time at Liverpool and, because of that, somewhat inappropriate. For what has stood out about the goalkeeper’s contribution to the team’s success since he arrived from Roma for a then world-record £65m fee is how understated it has been. No dramas, no fuss, just a string of reliable performances from the handsome lumberjack with Inuit blood. Indeed it says much about how cool, calm and excellent Alisson has been for the world, European and English champions that when he does make a mistake it feels like football’s equivalent of a heatwave in December – unexpected and extraordinary.

“The consistency he has shown since he has been here is there for all to see,” says John Achterberg, Liverpool’s first-team goalkeeping coach. “For sure he is one of the best, if not the best, in his position.”

Achterberg, an affable Dutchman who has been part of Liverpool’s backroom staff for more than 11 years, first became aware of Alisson in 2013, when the Brazilian was playing for his boyhood club, Internacional. Achterberg recommended him to Jürgen Klopp three years later and was delighted when he was signed as a replacement for Loris Karius in the aftermath of the German’s harrowing display in the 2018 Champions League final.

The new man more than proved a significant upgrade in his first season – brilliant as Liverpool missed out on the Premier League title by a point and even more so as they made up for defeat in Kiev with victory in Madrid, pulling off eight saves against Tottenham to help secure that sixth European Cup.

That led to Alisson being named Uefa’s and Fifa’s goalkeeper of the year, and the expectation was he would go from strength to strength this season. According to some metrics he has actually gone backwards, but that can largely be put down to injury and playing behind a less secure defence. As far as Achterberg is concerned there has been no drop-off in Alisson’s performance levels – rather the 27-year-old has confirmed during this most unusual of campaigns not only his status as one of the world’s finest keepers but also the perfect one for this Liverpool side.

“The way we play means the goalkeeper needs to be an all-round goalkeeper, someone who can deal with balls over the top and sweep up because we play with a high line,” Achterberg says. “We also want someone who comes for crosses, is decent in one-on-ones, who can makes saves … many goalies can’t fit the way we play but Ali does because he has these skills.

“What is particularly exceptional about him is his speed and power. This allows him to cover spaces quickly and get to the corners of the goal quickly. And when the ball goes over the top, even if he’s in a race with a forward who is quick, he can beat them to it. There was one game where Ali had the highest sprinting speed of the entire team – he is very fast and that is maybe something people do not recognise in him.”

Alisson also has excellent distribution skills, seen most strikingly with the soaring kick that set up Mohamed Salah’s goal in the 2-o victory over Manchester United in January. But ultimately it is hard to get away from the feeling his biggest strength is that ice-cold temperament. He never seems flustered or behaves erratically and, from Achterberg, comes the sense this is what allows Alisson to quickly get over his rare errors, such as the loose clearance that led to Reiss Nelson scoring in the recent defeat by Arsenal.

“Ali knows the best option was to clear the ball up the pitch,” Achterberg says. “Maybe it happened because the focus was not 100% – that can happen when you win the league – but he knows if something doesn’t go your way you have to move on because you can still affect the rest of the game; you can’t affect any mistakes you’ve made.

“Ali is always calm and this is why he is able to make good decisions in high-pressure moments. That calmness also gives confidence to his teammates and the crowd. Everybody trusts him.”

Achterberg admits Alisson got “quite frustrated” during his 10-week layoff following the calf injury he sustained in the opening-day victory over Norwich (with Adrián providing cover in goal), but there was a determined focus on his part to get fit and, once he was, Brazil’s No 1 was soon back to his best. His most eye-catching display arguably came in December’s Club World Cup semi-final victory over Monterrey, when he made a number of excellent saves.

There have been plenty of others, as that club video shows, with a standout save from this season being the low, right-hand claw that prevented Teemu Pukki scoring a near-certain goal for Norwich at Carrow Road in February. Achterberg, asked if he has a favourite, replies: “No, because every save is important, especially the ones you make when it’s 0-0 or 1-0 because they can be the difference between the team winning or not.

“Last season, for instance, Ali made some vital saves in the Barcelona game without which we wouldn’t have got to the [Champions League] final, and if you go further back there was the match-winning one against Napoli. The one against Norwich was also important because the game was goalless at the time.”

Having finally got their hands on the Premier League trophy, Liverpool head to Newcastle on Sunday with a spring in their step but nothing to play for, and that is especially the case for Alisson given he is out of the running for the golden glove. He won it last season with 21 clean sheets; the maximum he can get this time is 14, which would leave him at least one short of Nick Pope and Ederson, who are vying for the award. But if the past couple of years are anything to go by, he is still likely to not only give his best but be at his best.

“Not everyone can play as goalkeeper for Liverpool,” says Achterberg. “You need to be as good as Alisson. Fortunately we have the Alisson.”