There were plenty in the football world who scoffed when it emerged at the beginning of last season that Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool were employing a specialist throw-in coach.
Sixteen months on, with Liverpool standing as European and World champions as well as runaway Premier League leaders , the Reds' coaching set-up is held up as model for the rest to follow and emulate, as underlined by the latest Instagram post by Thomas Gronnemark, the throw-in coach, who remains part of the Anfield set-up.
The Dane, who has spent the last 15 years working on honing the set-piece art, is now employed by a number of football clubs but has not, it appears, forgotten where his bread is buttered.
Pictured wearing an Ajax shirt, Gronnemark posted: "YES.. I'm in Ajax - No Comments
"YES.. and still in LIVERPOOL
"YES.. I'm a Freelancer coaching Gent and other teams. Never coach direct rivals from my clubs. See you."
Gronnemark exclusively told the ECHO's Paul Gorst earlier this season how the phone call from Jurgen Klopp offering the chance to work at Liverpool 'changed his life'.
He said back in October: "Last season, I was approximately with the first team one week a month for the first seven or eight months. All the other analysis I did via video and sent the video to Jurgen. It all depends how long I stay, I have been with the team at the training camp in France [pre-season] and two weeks ago, I had a whole week at the Academy to teach the players and the coaches too.
"Now it just depends on the schedule. I also have other teams in Europe, too. It is easier for me to say how much I have been working with the team at the end of the season, Now, the throw ins are the focus at Liverpool FC. There are approximately 40 to 60 throw ins every game and it's really important because if you have the ball you can score and if the opponents do, they can catch you off balance."
You can read the full interview HERE
