Liverpool's decision to fly out to Dubai for the World Cup has been, according to assistant manager Pep Lijnders, as far back as 18 months in the making.
The Reds will visit the region in early December for a warm-weather training camp that will also involve two friendlies of fine tuning before they return to domestic action at Manchester City in the Carabao Cup just before Christmas.
Like all pre-season venues, it was organised by Liverpool's general manager of first-team operations, Ray Haughan, and the decision to jet out to Dubai was taken after an initial base in South Africa was first looked at in October 2021.
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With a flight from Doha to Dubai around an hour, it made more sense for the club to move to a base in the Middle East, to save from further long-haul flights for those at the World Cup.
“We are in the training camp in Dubai, so that’s around the corner,” Klopp said in his pre-Southampton press conference last week. “So if somebody has to leave the tournament early, they can join us immediately. That’s one of the reasons why we go there.”
Somewhat surprisingly, though, Liverpool's World Cup contingent is at a relatively modest seven, with just Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jordan Henderson, Darwin Nunez, Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk at the Qatar tournament along with Brazil duo Alisson Becker and Fabinho. It equals their lowest since 2006.
A welcome development, from Klopp's point of view, will be that perhaps only Alisson, Nunez and Van Dijk are expected to feature in most minutes of their respective nations' participation in Qatar. Konate only earned his first cap for France in May, while Henderson and Alexander-Arnold are not regulars under Gareth Southgate for England. Fabinho, meanwhile, has plenty of competition in the centre of the park for Brazil.
It means Liverpool will depart for Dubai with a host of high-profile players in their party; something that is not always the case when the summer jaunts begin, particularly after major international tournaments.
"We will report in Dubai with a fresh and hungry mind to prepare for the second half of the season," Lijnders told Liverpoolfc.com on Wednesday. "We still have our same target: create special games and memories together.
"There is still a lot to play for. We know we weren’t good enough [so far this season] but one thing will not happen, we will not stop nor give up. In all layers of society, it’s in these times people get separated: the ones who make one step forward and the ones who make one step back.
"The AXA Training Centre is full of people who make a step forward, the ones who take responsibility and not the ones who shield behind the others. [The Dubai trip is] about togetherness, off-the-pitch professionalism, creation of team spirit, a staff who work very efficiently towards one target and above everything, real time to train. Real time for dedicated and specific team training. It’s time to create a base for the second half of the season to recover our pride.
"Sometimes you need to lose something to realise what it took to have it. Hard work and dedication brought the cups to us, without it we are nothing special. I have to give Ray and Louise [Dobson] a big compliment for how they always make sure we can prepare in the best conditions possible.
"These two breathe high performance on the elite level and honestly this isn’t easy: no excuses and always searching for the next step. For example, they started the process of the Dubai training camp 18 months ago to ensure we got the best elite facility possible, before any other team."
Liverpool's two friendlies against Lyon and AC Milan - on December 11 and 16, respectively - will be played at the 15,000-capacity Al-Maktoum Stadium and will form part of the Dubai Super Cup, which also features Premier League leaders Arsenal.
Games will see teams awarded three points for a victory and two for a draw. After each match will be a penalty shoot-out, where a bonus point will be awarded for the winners. Arsenal, who will not meet Klopp's Reds, will play Lyon on December 8 and Milan on December 13.
A special press conference, organised to reveal the news on Tuesday morning, did little to inform those on the Zoom call due to its garbled audio throughout, but a slick website has been put together for those seeking more information on the Super Cup itself.
“I’m happy about the number of players we have for our ‘pre-season’. That’s a good number, the positions are covered,” Klopp said at his pre-Southampton press conference last week. “We should have two centre-halves, three, four full-backs, enough midfielders, front line pretty much, Lucho is now running outside, looks really good.
“So that’s positive, of course, that’s how we use it. But not moaning about the players who are at the World Cup, no. I think it’s enough, to be honest. Enough players go and then we need them all back healthy, definitely. Because then it’s a really long season to come, a lot of games and it starts early. From that moment on there is no rest again.”
The Reds are no strangers to the region. Klopp took his players there fresh from their FA Cup victory over Everton in January 2018, while Liverpool have previously organised injury rehab programmes for the likes of Van Dijk and Adam Lallana at the Nad al Sheba Complex.
Liverpool insiders have previously spoken about how the month-long period in Austria and France before the start of last season helped hugely for what awaited them. The hope is that a similar jaunt mid-campaign can help the Reds hit the ground at speed for the second half of the campaign after what has been an indifferent period in the Premier League.
The amount of first-team stars in the contingent should offer hope on that score. Rather than see so many of his key men whisked off to Qatar and placed in the trust of their national teams' medical departments, Klopp will be able to keep a watchful eye over so many of his leading lights, including Mohamed Salah, Thiago Alcantara and Andy Robertson. Luis Diaz, Naby Keita and Joel Matip are also expected to feature in Dubai upon their comebacks.
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