In Profile: Torino

Liverpool round off their pre-season preparations with a visit from Torino.

Torino is one of the most successful sides in Italian history, with seven league titles to their name. Take a look at the profile of Il Toro as they travel to Anfield on 7^th August.

History

Torino was established in 1906, formed by a group of dissidents unhappy with the way that fellow Turin club Juventus was run. Within twenty-five years, the side were well-established in Italian football: 1927/28 saw the club’s first Calcio title.

The side reached the peak of their powers in the 1940s. ‘Grande Torino’, as the legendary side were known, won five consecutive Scudetto titles from 1942 onwards. At one stage, ten of the eleven starters for the national side played their domestic football for Torino.

Tragedy struck in 1949. With the world at their feet, the entire Torino squad were killed in an aeroplane crash following a friendly with Benfica in Lisbon – every player is memorialised in a monument at the site of the disaster. Each year, the squad travel to this site to pay respects and to reflect upon this dark time in the club’s history.

Some difficult times followed in the league, and in 1958/59 the club suffered its first relegation to Serie B. However, an immediate return followed: the club embarked upon a rebuilding project, and in 1975/76 were able to celebrate their first Serie A title since the disaster. Torino failed to win at home for the first time that season when Cesena held them on the final day, but Juventus’ loss against Perugia ensured that it was the maroon half of Turin that were celebrating.

The early 1990s saw Torino’s best run in Europe, as the side ventured all the way to the UEFA Cup final. They defeated Real Madrid along the way, but lost the two-legged final to Ajax on the away goals rule. The following season, Torino were able to win their fifth Coppa Italia.

A period of uncertainty followed, both on and off the pitch. The club went back and forth between the top two divisions, and in 2005 faced bankruptcy. However, Torino has successfully reinstated itself as a staple fixture in Serie A: its current spell in the top flight stretches back to the 2012/13 season.

Last Season

Torino ended a steady season in 9^th place. Their key man was Spanish winger Iago Falque, who completed a permanent move from Roma at the start of the season after a successful loan spell. He ended the campaign on twelve goals; Italian striker Andrea Belotti was also able to hit double figures, as the side matched their league finish from the previous season.

Il Toro had won just five league matches by January, and had exited the Coppa Italia to rivals and eventual winners Juventus. This prompted the club to appoint former Watford coach Walter Mazzarri. He immediately went on a five-game unbeaten run – Torino ended the season with thirteen league wins and a respectable 54 points. This was just three points adrift of a spot in the Europa League qualifying round, and the team will likely be aiming for European qualification in the forthcoming campaign.

The Manager

Mazzarri is a seasoned Italian coach. He concluded a playing career in 1995, and has since managed sides including Sampdoria, Napoli and Inter Milan.

His season-long spell in England, at Vicarage Road, ended in a 17^th-placed finish. He was criticised in some quarters for his style of play, but departed with the gratitude of fans after securing a third consecutive season of Premier League football for Watford.

His six months at Torino have been positive, and he will be looking to finalise preparations for the new season when he visits Anfield.

The Stadium

Torino shared more than a city with Juventus until 2011, when their neighbours moved out of the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino. The ground seats 28,140 – the Olympics reference in its name refers to its use at the 2006 Winter Olympics, while ‘Grande Torino’ is a tribute to the side of the 1940s that lost their lives.

Pre-Season: So Far, So Good

Liverpool maintained their unbeaten pre-season with a 2-0 victory over fellow Premier League side Crystal Palace. Results are of course secondary in these kind of games, but the performances have also been encouraging; precious little can be gleaned from pre-season, but those signs that can be seen are pointing in the right direction.

The first game, against local outfit Tranmere Rovers, ended in a comprehensive 4-0 victory. This match was most notable for the promising performances of the youngsters: Alexander-Arnold shone in the first half surrounded by older players, and the younger second-half eleven arguably put in a better performance than their senior counterparts. This culminated in goals for Chirivella and Woodburn. A draw against Wigan followed; while this was far from an ideal result, there were things to be happy about. Chief amongst these was a debut goal for Mohamed Salah. He linked well with the rest of the front three, and was rewarded for this with a tap-in goal after receiving a square ball. Salah has continued in the same vein over in Hong Kong – he terrorised the Crystal Palace defence with his pace, and is looking for all the world like he will be a real handful in the Premier League.  The prospect of getting him and Mane in the same side is tantalising indeed, particularly with Coutinho providing the service from the deeper role he now seems to be making his own.

Dominic Solanke, another new man, has made an equally quick start. His performances have perhaps been a little more surprising – his talent is undeniable, and he showcased this at the recent u20 World Cup, but not many expected him to look at home so quickly with a lot of the first team. Word out of the club following the signing very much suggested that Solanke was meant as one for the future, but he is making his case for the present. He made a goal for Chirivella against Tranmere, and got one for himself against Palace – the latter was a lovely strike, rifled into the corner from outside the box. Again, it would be foolish to read too much into pre-season, but he has certainly made Klopp sit up and take notice; at the very least, Solanke will hope to be involved in cup fixtures during the coming campaign.

For the time being, Salah and Solanke are the only new additions we have been able to see in action. A deal for Andy Robertson has reportedly been finalised in recent hours, but it looks as though fans will be made to wait until the squad head to Germany before he will be seen in a Liverpool shirt. However, that is not to say there has been nothing to keep supporters interested. The role of Ben Woodburn has been particularly intriguing – Klopp has repeatedly employed him in a deeper position. The German shed some light on the matter following the win over Palace; he stated that he wanted to allow the young Welsh talent to become as well-rounded as possible, and that playing him centrally would help to improve on traits such as composure. Whether the move is intended as permanent remains to be seen; either way, he has been impressive in a less natural role. As well as Woodburn, and the aforementioned Alexander-Arnold, Grujic has been able to impress. He steered in a lovely long-range strike against Tranmere, and although he has not added to his tally since then he has nonetheless made his presence felt in the centre of the park. Sometimes this has crossed a line – to the frustration of new Palace manager Frank De Boer – but the Serb seems to have all of the necessary raw attributes. In some respects, he is reminiscent of a young Gerrard: this is not a particularly useful tag in the sense that it saddles him with hugely unfair expectations, but the comparison is irresistible. He bursts forward from the centre of the park, has a good long shot on him, showcases a strong range of passing and has a rash streak – hopefully he is able to remain injury-free this campaign and get a little more involved in the first team.

The ’final’ of the Premier League Asia Cup is our next fixture – this is against Leicester. It will be good to test the squad against another Premier League side; the win against Palace was encouraging, particularly as we have struggled against them a lot in the recent past, and a win against the champions of two seasons ago would be equally pleasing. It should also be good for fitness – back-to-back games against opposition of a comparable level will certainly help to ease the players back to their peak. A trip to Germany follows this, and before we know it the season proper is upon us. Hopefully the preparations for this moment continue in much the same fashion: the squad are looking good, injuries have been avoided and results are generally coming too.

What Makes a Good Pre-Season?

As a fan, pre-season is fairly underwhelming. It is eagerly lapped up, given that it is the first chance to see Liverpool in action for the best part of two months, but the matches are rarely scintillating. They are played at a slower pace, everyone looks that little bit less sharp, and even the good games are marred by the nagging knowledge that absolutely nothing rides on the result. Nonetheless, this does not deter us from getting up at ungodly hours to watch the beloved team edge past an obscure Australian outfit, or else face off against a domestic rival in a baseball ground in Massachusetts. Why do we do this? Undoubtedly it is partly because the bulk of the Liverpool fan-base are masochists, but there’s something else too! Pre-season can sometimes reveal quite a lot about a team, and can indeed be very useful for a variety of reasons.

1. Building up match fitness

This is probably the most obvious benefit of pre-season. It does not make for exciting viewing, and in fact contributes to the relative lack of quality on show, but it is of crucial importance to the side. Admittedly, the modern player is training hard even over their holiday – one need only look at the respective social media accounts of Dejan Lovren and Adam Lallana for evidence of this. However, the videos Firmino uploads tell a different story: at least some of the players will definitely need to put in some work to get back in condition! In any case, proper match fitness cannot be maintained purely through training; the players need game time to get back up to speed, and whilst this is not exciting it is important. This is particularly true for Danny Ings, who fans will be delighted to see back in a Liverpool shirt after a torrid two years of injury.

2. Embedding new signings

By contrast to the match fitness point, this advantage of pre-season is very exciting for the fans. A first glimpse at a new signing is always eagerly anticipated, even if it is against Tranmere. This comes with a word of warning, of course – the combination of everyone being off the pace and the opposition generally being vastly inferior can flatter to deceive. I was certainly sucked into the Aspas hype following a storming pre-season; as it happens I still think he is an excellent forward, but there is no hiding from the fact that he didn’t cut it at Liverpool. Nonetheless, watching new signings in pre-season can give the fans an idea of their style of play and what they might add to the squad. More importantly, it gives the new signings a chance to settle in; it allows them to function alongside their new team-mates, potentially in a new system, without the immediate pressure of a competitive match. This gives the squad a better chance of hitting the ground running when the actual season gets up and running. This is all contingent, of course, upon transfer business being conducted earlier rather than later in the window.

3. Giving young players a chance

This is another crucial aspect of pre-season, but can sometimes conflict with the embedding of new signings. Acclimatising new players will have limited effect if they are surrounded by youngsters who they are unlikely to be playing alongside come the season proper. As such, I prefer two broadly separate teams – a first team to play for forty-five minutes, and a team of youth prospects for the second forty-five. This comes with the proviso that the ‘first team’ should include one or two of the most promising youth prospects, so as to get them ready for a potential step up in the near-future: this year, I would like to see Alexander-Arnold and Gomez featuring alongside the seniors. This strikes the right kind of balance: the new additions to the squad get game time alongside those who will actually be playing with them in competitive matches, a couple of the most promising youngsters get a similar taste of ‘first team’ action, and the rest of the youngsters get given regular forty-five minute spells to showcase themselves to the manager and fans. For the fans in particular, it is nice to get a chance to see these youngsters play – many don’t watch the youth teams regularly, and pre-season is a chance for them to form opinions on the youth prospects.

4. Trialling tactics

The lack of anything being at stake may contribute to the absence of much excitement in pre-season, but it has its benefits. It allows Klopp to experiment with various tactical approaches, without anything other than pride riding on it. Of course, the German showed at the back end of last season that he doesn’t mind switching formation at an important time – that gamble paid off nicely – but it is preferable to be able to experiment in a more low-pressure environment. This year, that means trying out both the 4-3-3 and the 4-4-2 diamond. The latter was the one Klopp adopted for the 2016/17 run-in, but the former has traditionally been his favourite: the signing of Salah indicates that he will stick to the 4-3-3, but I for one would like to see him at least experimenting with Mane and Salah as strikers in a diamond. Firmino could play in behind, with Coutinho and Wijnaldum playing ahead of Can – it seems unlikely that this will be the go-to formation, but it is worth trying out.

Pre-season is undoubtedly a mere shadow of competitive football, but it does the job nicely as a substitute. It gives fans the chance to have a closer look at new signings and youngsters alike, allows for tactical experimentation and ensures that everyone, players and fans alike, is raring to go for the start of the season. Bring it on!

-James Martin

Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013

Fleetwood Town 0-5 Liverpool: Reds Turn On The Style

In the second fixture of their pre-season preparations, Liverpool travelled to Fleetwood’s Highbury ground. As in the Tranmere match, Klopp elected to play two entirely different sets of players in each half – the opening forty-five minutes was not too far away from a full-strength side minus those still away following international duty, while the second period saw an opportunity handed to more of the young players. Both impressed, but interestingly it was the younger side that scored the bulk of the goals – four of Liverpool’s five were notched in an extremely strong second half performance.

The biggest positive of the first half was undoubtedly Marko Grujic. He was unable to feature in the Tranmere game due to bizarre work permit regulations that required him to leave and then re-enter the country, and he seemed determined to make up for lost time. He certainly managed to impress Klopp and the fans: he played some lovely passes, and looked impossible to dispossess. He also showed some quick feet, winning a penalty early on: in a passage of play that highlighted some of his best attributes, he effortlessly shrugged his man off before bursting forward and comprehensively beating the defender with a series of step-overs. Ings missed the subsequent spot kick, but Grujic soon rectified the situation – just minutes later he rifled one in following some nice play down the left by Sadio Mane. Nobody really knows exactly what squad role Klopp envisages for Grujic this season, and it would be foolish to read too much into a pre-season game, but the Serbian is certainly inserting himself at least into the first team picture.

Grujic aside, it was a fairly uninspiring first half. There was nothing specifically wrong with it – the general style of play was actually encouraging, with everyone looking to string together quick, incisive passes. However, nobody really shone: Mane was probably the best after Grujic, but even he was guilty of some poor decision-making in places. Particularly concerning was the apparent impotence of the right hand side; Markovic has purportedly been given pre-season to try and force his way into Klopp’s plans, but as in the Tranmere game he failed to impress. Almost all attacks went through Mane on the left – considering Markovic is supposed to be a direct winger who likes to cut inside and make things happen, this was particularly disappointing. Admittedly Mane was assisted by the ever-marauding Moreno whereas Markovic had Flanagan, but he would nevertheless certainly have liked to have had a bigger influence on proceedings.

This lacklustre showing was thrown into sharp relief by the performance of youngster Ryan Kent in the second half. He played exceptionally well, demonstrating awareness beyond his years. He was rewarded for this with two assists: both were clever square balls from situations where many wingers would simply have lashed the ball at the near post. As well as the assists, he also showed some lovely skill to beat his man on a couple of occasions – with Klopp known for bringing young talents through to the first team, Markovic will be well aware that he will have to step up to ensure he remains higher up the pecking order than Kent. He was one of many who impressed: academy prospect Woodburn scored one goal and created another in an excellent performance, whilst sole regular first-teamer Roberto Firmino bagged a poacher’s brace. It was interesting that Klopp once again elected to play Firmino in the number nine role: with Sturridge, Origi and Ings all occupying that position it is hard to see him getting many minutes up top during the season, but he was undeniably impressive there in this fixture. There was a real clinical edge to the second half performance – even Lucas managed to get on the scoresheet! Transferring this ruthlessness into the Premier League season is going to be a key element of any success in the forthcoming campaign: Klopp got Liverpool creating chances aplenty last season, but not taking them with sufficient consistency.

The absence of a lot of regular first team players makes it particularly hard to draw any meaningful conclusions from this game, but if nothing else it is fair to say that Liverpool’s future looks bright. Marko Grujic looks capable of developing into a player that could control our midfield for years to come – the prospect of him playing alongside Can, both with their potential fulfilled, is a mouth-watering one. Add to this the likes of Brannagan, Kent, Woodburn, Ejaria and potentially Ilori, and the club looks in very good shape; it would be naïve to think that all of these players will one day make the first team, but even those who don’t will surely go on to fetch decent sums of money for us. Sergi Canos was in a similar bracket to the aforementioned crop of youngsters: he has just departed to Norwich for a fee which could rise to close to five million pounds, giving an indication of how valuable these talents are as assets. For the time being, however, they remain very much a part of Liverpool Football Club – a club that will undoubtedly be content with how pre-season has gone so far.
-James Martin
Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013

Liverpool vs Tranmere: Return of the Reds

Little time seems to have passed since the disappointing end to the last campaign, but today Liverpool returned to action in a pre-season friendly against Tranmere Rovers. This could hardly be called a significant fixture, but it provided a good opportunity to see some of the new signings and academy prospects in action; the result was always secondary in this match, but Liverpool will be pleased to have come away with a 1-0 victory.

Jurgen Klopp elected to play two entirely different teams in each half. The first half gave us our first glimpse of new signings Loris Karius, Joel Matip and Sadio Mane: Karius had absolutely nothing of note to do, but Matip and Mane were both involved. The Cameroon centre back made a couple of errors towards the start of the match, but that can hopefully be attributed purely to nerves. He settled a little as the half progressed, and showed off some impressive distribution – both he and Lovren played some excellent balls out from the back, allowing for good transition from one end of the pitch to the other. One such pass from Lovren found Mane, who had made a bursting run into the box endemic of his lively performance; the Senegalese international beat the onrushing keeper to the ball then unleashed an audacious scoop shot from an extremely tight angle, only narrowly missing out on an exquisite first goal. In fact, the newest addition from Southampton was probably the half’s best performer – in addition to his intelligent off-the-ball movement, he also impressed with his direct runs and clever turns. One such turn, where he allowed the ball to run between his legs before swivelling and sprinting away from his man, resulted in a chance that forced a fine save from the Tranmere goalkeeper. His link-up play with Firmino was also encouraging: Firmino was playing as a striker in this game, something he will likely not be doing regularly over the course of the season, but their understanding was nevertheless a positive sign.

A couple of the youth players also seized the chance to impress in the first half. Ejaria, playing as an attacking midfielder, was one of the lesser-known youngsters on the team sheet – he put in an excellent performance, showing a wide range of qualities. His passing was generally excellent, he put pressure on the Tranmere defence with some powerful, direct runs and he even tracked back admirably: many Liverpool fans will now be keeping a close watch on his development. In contrast, Brannagan is one of the most high-profile young talents at the club – Barcelona have reportedly shown interest in signing him to their youth setup, and it was clear in this game why he has attracted such attention. His levels of composure on the ball are remarkable for such a young player. He pulled the strings from a slightly deeper midfield role, and barely put a pass wrong all game – he also showed quick feet to beat a man on a couple of occasions. The only real negatives from the half were the lack of goals (although this cannot really be read into at all in a pre-season match) and a close call from a set piece, where a Tranmere man was able to find space and directed his header on to the post. Hopefully this persistent set-piece vulnerability gets addressed before the season gets properly underway.

The second half saw changes all round: two of the most notable introductions were Danny Ings, only recently back from a serious injury that kept him out for much of last season, and Lazar Markovic, who spent the last year out on loan at Fenerbache. Both players are still very young, and whilst some fans have written them off others are intrigued to see what part they could play in Klopp’s plans for the upcoming season. Markovic didn’t do his cause much good with his performance – seemingly functioning fairly central rather than in his natural right wing position, he struggled to influence the game. More worryingly, he missed two very good chances: the first was ballooned over the bar from about 12 yards out, and the second struck the post with the goal gaping. The latter miss was frankly criminal, and in any competitive game would be nigh-on unforgivable. However, the Serbian did begin to impress in the latter stages: he began to drift over to the right on occasion, and from here he was effective. One particular delivery for Danny Ings was inch-perfect: the striker nearly gave it the finish it deserved, firing just wide with an acrobatic bicycle kick. Ings did eventually get his goal a few minutes later – Trent Alexander Arnold went on a lovely run before finding Ings, who controlled the ball excellently before lashing it into the net. Although he will have a tough time getting minutes ahead of Sturridge and Origi, it is certainly nice to have Ings back fit as an option: his pace, finishing and work rate make him a very useful player in any side, but particularly under Klopp.

The Ings goal secured the win, but more important was the fairly high level of performance in both halves. Liverpool always looked in control, and impressed with their quick, accurate passing under pressure. They were expected to dominate, of course, but that does not detract from the fact that they were able to completely dictate the game – new signings and youngsters alike put in performances that gave the fans reason to be optimistic for the future. It is foolish to read too much into pre-season games, but it is certainly fair to say that there were promising signs. If nothing else, it was great to see Liverpool back in action again: here’s to many more wins in the coming season.
-James Martin
Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013

Liverpool’s Pre-Season Form- Should We Be Worried?

Liverpool’s Pre-Season Form- Should We Be Worried?



Just over a week ago, Liverpool left Anfield behind to go on their tour of America. Their first game of the tour was against Toronto, which ended in a 1-1 draw, and their second game was a 2-1 defeat to AS Roma. Their next match of the tour is against Tottenham.

Brendan Rodgers has only recently taken the reins at LFC, and I don’t think he will be particularly pleased with his first two results. Toronto is not exactly a world-class team and yet we could not manage to beat them, and losing to AS Roma will have been disappointing. However, it has to be remembered that Rodgers is using this pre-season tour to assess some of the reserves. Liverpool haven’t fielded anything like their strongest team in either of the two matches. The first and second choice goalkeepers Reina and Doni were not even taken on the tour! This makes the results a lot more understandable.

Although the teams fielded haven’t been full strength, there have however been members of the normal starting 11 involved in the games. With Carragher and Enrique both playing against Toronto, it is a little worrying that the team still let a goal in against such a small team. This is also the case against Roma, with two goals being conceded despite Skrtel playing alongside Carragher and Enrique, making it a close to full-strength defence for Liverpool. However, LFC were playing their 4th choice goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi.

Also, despite the results, lots of encouragement can be taken from these first two games under the Rodgers regime. For instance, 712 passes were made by LFC in the game against Toronto (the first time Liverpool have made more than 700 passes in a game since 2008), with a pass accuracy rate of 92%. This is extremely impressive, and suggests the tika-taka style of play is already well on its way to being fully implemented at the club.

In conclusion, I don’t think the first two results from the pre-season tour are any particular cause of worry. Although the results haven’t come, the way the team have been playing is very good, and shows the club is heading in the right direction. Also, considering so many reserves are playing, the results (especially only losing 2-1 to Roma) are actually quite impressive and encouraging. Hopefully, with a full-strength team, this new style of play will bring the results that Liverpool need.