Dominik Szoboszlai Liverpool midfielder and vice-captain has urged the club to stop hiding behind the excuse of a transitional season and start challenging for major trophies again. Speaking in an interview with the Liverpool Echo, he said: “It’s enough to speak about that we need time.”
Dominik Szoboszlai Urges End to Transition Excuses at Liverpool
Szoboszlai looked back on how easily the dressing room reached for the same explanation last season. “Obviously last season things weren’t going well and we were saying that new players came in and a couple of players left, (such as) Lucho and Darwin, and it didn’t work out.”
He accepted that the same reasoning could apply again this year, given the exits of Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson. “So we were saying we need time because of the transition. Now we will say that Mo left, a legend and with all the respect. Robbo the same.”
But he wants that line of thinking retired for good. “Every year something is going to happen. So at one point we have to take the responsibility and stop making excuses, because we are Liverpool FC.” He added: “We don’t have three years to renew everybody and start again. So I think it starts now and we are there again. It’s a long season.”
Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch Demand High Standards
Szoboszlai’s new authority comes from his place in the club’s leadership group. Andoni Iraola has named him a vice-captain alongside Joe Gomez and Alisson Becker, working under skipper Virgil van Dijk as part of a reshuffle of the squad’s midfield armband duties.
He believes the responsibility suits him. “To be honest, I like to have responsibility. Maybe last season, I think on the pitch I actually tried to take responsibility and it worked out quite well.” He said the role has now grown beyond the touchline. “Now I maybe try to (take responsibility) off the pitch a little bit more, but I think in this team we have a lot of guys who like to take responsibility, which is nice and (makes it) easier for everyone.”
For Szoboszlai, unity comes before silverware. “I think our main point is to become a real family because then after that we can be successful. To talk is easy but I think you also have to show it on the pitch..” There is a lighter side to the leadership duties too. “I’m one of the policeman, yes, for the fines,” Szoboszlai said, with Ryan Gravenberch adding: “I’m one as well, it’s just when people come in late. We can’t tell you the prices. It used to be a long list!”
Squad Investment and Life Under Andoni Iraola
The Dominik Szoboszlai Liverpool project has changed shape fast. Iraola took charge after Arne Slot was sacked following a fifth placed Premier League finish, and the club have now spent more than £700 million on 11 new senior players over the past 18 months. Salah, Robertson and Ibrahima Konate all left in the recent window, while Bradley Barcola, Jeremy Jacquet, Victor Munoz and the on-loan Ronald Araujo arrived over the summer.
Liverpool remain unbeaten under their new head coach, though they have dropped points in three of their five Premier League games and sit six points behind Manchester City. Details on how Iraola wants his midfield to function are covered in our look at Iraola’s tactical midfield setup.
Szoboszlai’s message to the newcomers is simple. “Believe that it’s one of the best clubs in the world and the best club in England,” he said. “And we have to play like that. The badge is very big and you have to make the supporters proud again.” Gravenberch offered similar counsel. “If you come to Liverpool then you know already the badge is going to be heavy. The advice I can give them is just to be yourself, do what you do at the club you were at before.”
Upcoming Timeline for Liverpool’s Trophy Hunt
Szoboszlai framed the coming months as a test of whether this rebuilt squad can compete at the top again. “What this season is going to ask us is are we ready to compete again on the highest level? I think we are but we have to start to do it.”
He pointed to the taste of winning the title as the standard the squad should be chasing across every competition. “We know how it feels to win the Premier League and from my side I don’t think anything felt like that before. Of course, we want to feel it again, and the same with the Champions League and with the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.”
His final message was aimed at the whole squad, old and new. “We are on it. But the only thing is they should make sure they give their best, we give our best and we become like a family.”
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