Former Liverpool elite development coach Vitor Matos, who was a key member of staff for a number of years when Jurgen Klopp was in charge at Anfield, is set to become the new manager of Portuguese outfit Maritimo.
Matos joined Liverpool in 2019 to take on the role of being the bridge between the academy and the first team in Kirkby. It was a position previously held by Pep Lijnders, who became Klopp's right-hand man.
But when Klopp left in 2024, all three moved on together, alongside the likes of goalkeeping coach John Achterberg, who moved to Saudi Arabia. Slowly, each has returned to work with different clubs.
Matos, who Fabrizio Romano reports is set to sign a two-year contract, was previously at FC Porto in Portugal. Maritimo, based on the island of Madeira, finished 12th out of 18 clubs in the second division last season, and will be Matos' first job as a head coach at senior level.
Klopp has taken on a role with the Red Bull group since leaving Liverpool, while Lijnders is set to join Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. Lijnders and Matos were together at Red Bull Salzburg until December, when they parted ways with the Austrian side.
"What Arne Slot did is outstanding, because it is not easy to replace Jurgen," Matos told Training Ground Guru in March. "We tried to leave the club — and Jurgen left the club — in a really good moment.
Andreas Kornmayer, Vitor Matos, Jurgen Klopp, Pepijn Lijnders and Jack Robinson - former Liverpool coaches
Andreas Kornmayer, Vitor Matos, former manager Jurgen Klopp, Pep Lijnders and Jack Robinson of Liverpool after the Carabao Cup Final match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Wembley Stadium on February 25, 2024 (Image: Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
"The idea was to leave the club in a better position than when he arrived. The squad we left, we all had a feeling it was a squad ready to win titles.
"They have an unbelievable team in terms of togetherness. But it’s not easy to come to Liverpool, a big club, and replace Jurgen, someone who was so loved by everyone.
"What (Slot) has done is exceptional, of course. The game quality and, at the same time, being able to win consistently and that is the most important thing.
"I think the triggers are changing, regarding who starts the press and who follows. Some dynamics were already there in the past, some were new, in terms of the positioning of the full-backs or strikers and the 10 sometimes as well, and even defending a little bit differently in terms of where the press starts on the pitch.
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"Attacking-wise, there are sometimes different starting positions for the full-backs, sometimes they start in deeper lines or facing the game close to the center-backs. Not in all the games — there were different approaches in different games depending on dynamics.
"It’s not about being better or worse, but about doing things differently. This season they are having a lot of success, so this is good.
"The most important thing is that there is a clear idea, and this clear idea is possible to achieve with the squad he has and it is possible to have consistently good performance. That says a lot about Arne and a lot about the whole club on the moment as well."