Looking to pull off a shock, Brentford heads to Anfield with Thomas Gronnemark, a former throw-in coach for Liverpool, as their ace in the hole.
As he plans an upset of Brentford at Anfield, throw-in coach Thomas Gronnemark has opened up about his sudden departure from Liverpool.
The Dane, who unexpectedly left the team last season, was a vital component of Jurgen Klopp’s trophy-laden team. The 47-year-old is now collaborating with fellow Dane Thomas Frank and Brentford’s data-driven analysts after parting ways with the Reds.
Gronnemark cautions that this weekend, despite his prior work on Merseyside, they should prepare for surprises from throw-ins. “There will be no challenges around the fact I have coached both teams – my coaching is tailored to specific needs,” Gronnemark stated to The Mirror.
“All teams have contrasting playing styles and approaches, therefore I have taught in many different ways.” Gronnemark remembers how Roberto Firmino’s pivotal goal during Liverpool’s historic title run in January 2020 was the result of his unconventional training methods.
“During my second season at Liverpool, Jose Mourinho and Spurs spent two and a half hours working on our throw-in defense strategy, both on the practice field and through video analysis,” the player stated.
“We subsequently converted a throw-in to score the game-winning goal. It doesn’t matter how skilled you are at throwing in long, short, or ingenious passes; there are just too many scenarios that can arise.
In July 2018, when Gronnemark initially joined Liverpool, the team was having trouble with throw-ins and was only holding the ball 45.4% of the time. They did, however, improve to 68.4%, the second best in Europe, in less than a year.
The first place? That was given to FC Midtjylland, another team owned by Gronnemark. Even so, Gronnemark’s impact on the Reds was curtailed by COVID-19 and Brexit travel limitations, even with intensive remote video analysis.
Following just two trips to Kirkby in the previous campaign, the Liverpool manager spoke with Klopp and concluded it was time for them to break up. “After COVID, the level of throw-ins went from the best in the world to only good,” Gronnemark says.
“If I go on, we ought to increase it to four or five times as we did previously,” I reasoned. When I mentioned this to Jurgen, he responded that they wanted to try handling things on their own this season without my help.
“It sounds weird but it was a good solution for me because I wasn’t satisfied, I always want to be the best I can with my work.”
Ajax, Gent, Trabzonspor, Atlanta United, Toulouse, Philadelphia Union, and Pachuca are just a few of the international teams with which Gronnemark has previously worked. From 2016 to 2018, he was a player for Brentford for two seasons before rejoining the west London team in 2022.
The FA’s decision to ban Ivan Toney threw a significant wrench in the works, forcing crafty Gronnemark to adjust his Brentford throw-in coaching design. Understandably, he is not ready to divulge any of his trade secrets.
With a sly grin, he remarked, “Every team has what I like to refer to as throw-in superpowers, so I won’t talk too much about particular players owing to strategy. You have to factor in the fact that while Ivan Toney excels in certain areas, other players may excel in other areas, therefore you have adjust your plan accordingly. It also applies to defensive strategy, including covering throw-ins all over the field.”
Gronnemark is ecstatic about his unique Danish connection to the Bees’ elite strategist Frank, which he feels is essential to their shared success. “The closer you get to the people you work with – the better the results,” he concluded, regardless of where you are in the globe.
“You already have an advantage if you speak a common language, such as Danish. That’s equally crucial as your skill set because it’s difficult to reach your full potential if you don’t get along with the individuals you work with.”
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