Liverpool goalkeeper Armin Pecsi reflects on his breakthrough season with the Reds, the encouraging words he received from Alisson Becker during his near-debut against Crystal Palace, and the one ambition he refuses to let go of
Ian Doyle Chief Liverpool FC Writer
19:48, 28 May 2026
Armin Pecsi of Liverpool warms up prior to the Premier League match against Aston Villa
Armin Pecsi has learnt a great deal in his first season at Liverpool(Image: Liverpool FC, Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Anfield held its breath. The sight of Freddie Woodman crumpled on the pitch drew an audible gasp from the crowd, given that first-choice Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker and his deputy Giorgo Mamardashvili were already both unavailable through injury.
For Armin Pecsi, however, it presented the possibility of another milestone being reached in a remarkable debut season.
"It happened so quickly," recalls the 21-year-old, reflecting on the moment he was told to prepare for his senior Reds debut as a substitute during the second half of last month's Premier League encounter against Crystal Palace.
"The message came over 'he's not going to make it, you need to go on'. I was thinking 'this is what you wait your whole life for'.
"I was excited to be coming on, then it was a little bit up and down as I went to do my warm-up and then came back and then I was told 'just in case, keep yourself warm,'" reports the Liverpool Echo.
Woodman eventually recovered sufficiently to complete the remainder of the match, with Pecsi returning to the substitutes' bench. Yet not before he received some encouraging words from Liverpool's No. 1.
"Ali came up to me and said 'do your job, do what you do' and he wished me all the best," explains the Hungarian, speaking to the ECHO at the AXA Training Centre.
"The next week he came to me and asked 'were you nervous?' and I said 'yes, but I was excited'. Then I told him I'll always remember he gave me his best wishes.
"After the game, it was a little bit like I wasn't sure what happened as I was so close to playing. You never want your team-mates to get hurt, but I was close. Maybe when I make my debut it'll be easier.
Liverpool goalkeeper Armin Pecsi in a Reds shirt when growing up
Liverpool goalkeeper Armin Pecsi in a Reds shirt when growing up
"But it's definitely a story I can tell my mates or when I have kids! I hope I'll get games and good games at Liverpool, and this isn't going to be my best story."
During last summer's series of headline-grabbing signings, Pecsi's £1.3 million ($1.75 million) arrival from Puskas Akademia in early June was somewhat overshadowed.
The goalkeeper spent the campaign honing his skills with the Under-21s - which ended with a penalty shootout defeat to Palace in the Premier League 2 play-offs at home last month - though he did feature on Arne Slot's first-team bench on five occasions, including trips to Goodison Park and Old Trafford in the final weeks.
"It was a really good experience, but it felt normal in a way because that's where I want to belong," Pecsi explains. "I want to be in the squad and play in those stadiums.
"Pre-season helped me a lot because at the time I wasn't sure how you prepare for games at a big club or how you behave in the dressing room and things like that. It's completely different at a club like Liverpool.
"It also helped when I was third choice and was on the pitch helping the goalkeepers to warm-up and then the team. Then I'd go to the stands to watch the game and that was a really good experience, I could taste a bit of the stadium.
"And when I was second choice, I really just wanted to help Freddie so he could play well and he put in some good performances."
Armin Pecsi of Liverpool
Armin Pecsi of Liverpool(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
Pecsi has made certain that his time training alongside the first-team goalkeeping unit has been put to good use.
"The three goalkeepers all have a different style," he says. "If you see Ali from behind up close, even in the simple drills, if you're not a goalkeeper you can't say what's so special about what's happening, but what he makes seems so easy are some of the hardest parts there are in goalkeeping.
"I have started to practice in my training how he controls his body and his positioning, all those things.
"Giorgi is a shot-stopper the like of which I've never seen before. Freddie, his work ethic and mentality is very impressive. I want to combine all three of them into my game."
Pecsi also holds a subtle edge when it comes to anticipating the movements of opposing strikers.
"I played for many years as an outfield player," he explains. "I feel like it helped me when I was younger, I could see what the striker was trying to do, but the level here is so high that doesn't really matter anymore.
"But when we're doing one-on-ones with the goalkeepers in sessions and I'm playing outfield, it means I can finish my chances!"
The Austrian-born shot-stopper joined Liverpool, having clocked up nearly 50 appearances in Hungary's top division and represented the nation through youth levels up to Under-21 level. However, his initial period at the Academy proved somewhat jarring despite such substantial experience at a tender age.
"I have really learned a lot," says Pecsi. "I had to change my game a little bit to get to the high level and also the English style.
"It is different here to Hungary, even in the first division there. With the under-21s, it was intense and tackles were flying in during the training sessions, but everybody would just get up straight away. This aggressiveness and desire to win the ball was one thing, and then there was the technical ability they had.
"It meant I have had to think quicker when I have the ball and even before I get the ball. If you're not ready and in position then you can easily give away a goal.
"Being here, you learn how the best club in the world does it, how the players do it, how the fans and staff do it, and if I end up going somewhere else I can take these things with me."
In certain ways, Pesci seemed always destined to arrive at Anfield, considering the impact of his upbringing and particularly his father's influence.
"I was a Liverpool fan when I was younger because of my dad," he reveals. "My best friend and his dad were also big Liverpool supporters so I just grew up into it. When I played on the street I was with them a lot of the time. My little brother the same.
"Sometimes when I'm with my friends they ask me what it was like meeting the players. But this is where I want to belong.
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"When I was younger I was watching the older guys here, such as Ali and Virgil, but I never pretended to be someone when I was nine or 10 years of age. I always liked the players, but I have never pretended to be Pepe Reina or Alisson because I want to be myself and go on my journey."
For Pecsi, that is only just beginning.