An ex-Liverpool goalkeeping coach revealed all on the Reds' No 1 Allison
He detailed five reasons why he thinks the Brazilian is the best in the world
LISTEN NOW: It's All Kicking Off! Is Alisson the best goalkeeper in the Premier League?
By SIMON JONES and JOHN ACHTERBERG
Published: 18:03 EST, 6 March 2025 | Updated: 18:05 EST, 6 March 2025
Former Liverpool goalkeeper coach John Achterberg worked with Alisson from the moment he signed in a £66.8m deal from Roma in 2018 — then a world record fee for a goalkeeper.
Alisson went on to keep 21 clean sheets in his first season in the Premier League and won the Golden Glove.
Here Achterberg, now coaching at Al Ettifaq, tells Mail Sport’s Simon Jones why Alisson is the best in the world.
1. Handling
His handling is really good. People would be astonished how much he catches the ball in training.
A lot of it is about timing, speed and attacking the ball with both hands out in front but, importantly, having your whole body in the right line. It’s harder to catch if you don’t make the right body shape.
He worked on it with Taffarel at Brazil until he joined Liverpool, as well as assistant coach Jack Robinson and myself. He’ll still be working on it now with Fabian Otte.
Ex-Liverpool goalkeeping coach John Achterberg revealed why he believes Alisson is the best in the world
Achterberg (right) worked with Alisson at Liverpool for six years - between 2018 and 2024
2. Agility
From the minute he walked on to the training ground, I was impressed by his power and speed. The power is in his ability to take off, to push up from the ground and change direction. You can train that to some extent but his is a natural ability.
He is incredibly quick at closing down in one-on-ones, which he showed for his save against PSG’s Ousmane Dembele, and getting down to the ground, as he did to stop Khvicha Kvaratskhelia at his near post.
3. Mentality
Ali is a very calm person. He is emotional in terms of wanting to win but he is able to detach himself, so he sees the game calmly, which is really important to making good decisions.
He is a devout Christian and often reads his Bible, which I’m sure helps his mindset. You don’t want an erratic goalkeeper. That calmness rubs off on the players in front of you.
They won five honours together, including Champions League and Premier League titles
Alisson once hailed Achterberg as not only a great goalkeeping coach but also 'a great person'
4. Attitude
He is the most all-round, complete keeper I have worked with because he wants to be the best in the world and continues to work hard.
His older brother was a goalkeeper so it helps to have been in the family but he always wants to be perfect in his concentration and drills.
I always taught the younger keepers to learn from Ali and the likes of Caoimhin Kelleher, Kamil Grabara, Vitezslav Jaros and Harvey Davies saw the standard he set in training every day.
5. Footwork
We work a lot on kicking accuracy and do drills honing all different types of passes.
Ali was always good off his right foot but has worked hard to improve his left. He has that great Brazilian trait of hitting the ball on the side volley and has great eye speed, so he can pick a player out quickly to set up counter attacks.
He doesn’t save many with his feet, his preference is to dive, but quick footwork puts him in good positions to do so.
LiverpoolAlisson Becker