Is Klopp’s new Liverpool modeled after the 1995 Ajax team?
Is there a pre-made blueprint from the past that can point the Reds in the right direction as Jurgen Klopp’s team undergoes its first significant reformation since becoming manager of Liverpool?
The manager will need to reflect on possible changes for the summer after Liverpool failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in a full season.
Towards the end of 2022–23, we began to notice some of those changes, as Trent-Alexander-Arnold’s hybrid role between right-back and midfield gave the Reds a brand-new dynamic as the season came to a close. It also worked.
The Scouser’s long-term future in midfield has been a subject of fan speculation for years, but the first iteration of it propelled Liverpool to a run of seven straight victories as they sought an improbable top-four finish.
Alexander-Arnold appeared to be the player we knew he was capable of being, and the Reds appeared to be revitalized. Few players in world football are as capable of controlling the course of a game once the shackles are removed as he is.
Football to the hilt or heavy metal? Given the differences in individual roles in and out of possession, Liverpool’s formation has been given the label, but the idea itself is not particularly novel.
One of the most captivating teams in European history is still remembered as the mid-1990s Ajax “super-invincibles.”.
The team led by Johan Cruyff, the club’s all-time greatest player and predecessor to Louis van Gaal, was replete with class, homegrown stars all over the field.
The 1995 European Cup winners utilized a 3-1-2-3-1 system, which was based on the “Total Football” model used by Ajax themselves in the 1970s and allowing positional fluidity among players.
In terms of shape, it is comparable to some of Klopp’s experiments from the latter part of the season. When Liverpool had possession of the ball,
Alexander-Arnold sat in front of a back three and was given the freedom to express himself further up the field.
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