Interview with Liverpool icon Patrik Berger on Arne Slot, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dortmund vs Real Madrid in the Champions League final
From the staggered opening of a new Anfield stand through to the departure of a much-loved manager and arrival of so many new faces behind the scenes, this has already been a year of almost unprecedented overhaul at Liverpool.
But for former Liverpool favourite Patrik Berger, there’s one change that simply cannot be permitted any time soon.
“There’s no way Liverpool can allow Trent to go,” he says, regarding Trent Alexander-Arnold approaching the last 12 months of his current deal. “He’s a local lad, he’s won everything there, he is young and can play for another 10 years, you can use him in different positions. He is an unbelievable player – his new contract has to be a priority.”
While the Reds are in a similar position with both Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, Berger believes the duo are in very different situations. “The new manager needs his best players around,” he says. “Van Dijk is one of the best defenders in the world and this season was back to his best.
“Mo Salah, some people criticise him but he is still creating chances and scoring goals. I think it’ll be down to what Mo wants to do. Trent and Van Dijk I’d expect to extend, I’m not sure on Mo but I think we’ll find that out very, very soon.”
Berger has undergone a change of his own – at least temporarily – by renaming himself ‘Hat Trick Berger’ to promote the new McDonald’s burger The Hat Trick, which is available for a limited period. “If you think about it – Patrik, hat trick, Berger, burger, it’s very similar, so why not?” he laughs. “Let’s have fun!”
After almost nine years with Jurgen Klopp as manager, Liverpool are entering a new era which will be something of an unknown for many of the squad. But Berger is confident the players will take the arrival of new head coach Arne Slot in their stride.
“When a new boss comes in, you just get on with it,” he says, speaking to the ECHO. “Managers can be changed or sacked, but you have a deal for a number of years so you just try to do your best for the team. A new manager can have different ideas so you just try to do what they ask you.
“There’s always a worry you might not be their type of player, every manager has their own style of football and you could be the one he doesn’t really need. But on the other hand, it could be good for others to have more of a chance.
“The Liverpool board knew Jurgen Klopp was leaving for six or seven months before he left, so I’m sure they did their homework and believe Slot is the right man for the job. But whoever it was that takes the job after Klopp, it’s going to be difficult – at least at the beginning.”
Slot has inherited a squad that gained significant momentum during a season in which Liverpool won the League Cup and saw an unlikely Premier League title challenge fall away only in the closing weeks.
“Nobody was expecting anything out of the season, to be fair,” says Berger. “But they did so well and the new players settled in so quickly.
“When they won the League Cup people were excited and expected more silverware, but it didn’t come. Fans can be disappointed at that, but I think it was a good season. Liverpool really did well given all the changes they had, but it was a very strange season in the sense Jurgen Klopp was leaving. The emotions were going up and down all the time.
