Giovanni van Bronckhorst will officially begin his first match as assistant coach of Liverpool on Sunday. The former Netherlands international, who spent years as a head coach at clubs including Feyenoord, Rangers, and Besiktas, did not hesitate for a moment when manager Arne Slot called him with the offer.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s arrival at Liverpool marks a new chapter in the career of a man who has already experienced the game at its highest levels, both as a player and as a manager.
The 49-year-old Dutchman, who carved out an impressive coaching résumé with stints at Feyenoord, Rangers, and Besiktas, has taken on a new role as assistant to fellow countryman Arne Slot. It is a move that surprised some in the football world, given Van Bronckhorst’s long-standing ambitions to remain a head coach, but he insists that the opportunity was too exciting to turn down.
"From the moment Arne called me, I was excited about the challenge," he told Liverpool’s official website, reflecting on the conversation that set his new journey in motion. "Sometimes you immediately feel whether something is right for you. This was one of those moments. It’s an opportunity to work in a great environment with quality players, so I didn’t have to think about it for long." The words reveal a man who is ready to adapt, to embrace a role in which he can contribute his wealth of experience without bearing the full weight of managerial responsibility.
Since leaving Besiktas in November, Van Bronckhorst had been out of work, a rare pause in what has been a busy coaching career. The move to Liverpool means temporarily shelving his head coach ambitions, but he sees it as a step that could ultimately make him a better manager in the long run. "Right now, it’s important to enjoy this, share my experiences with the players, and, together with Arne and the staff, continue the success," he said. That success refers to Liverpool’s consistently high standards in recent years, and now, with Slot at the helm, a new era is taking shape.
Van Bronckhorst’s history with English football dates back to his playing days with Arsenal, where he won the Premier League and FA Cup, and later with Barcelona, where he enjoyed Champions League glory. Though he never played for Liverpool, Anfield is a ground he knows well. In 2022, as manager of Rangers, he stood in the technical area for a Champions League fixture against the Reds, an experience that left its mark. He speaks of Liverpool’s atmosphere with genuine admiration not just for the noise inside the stadium, but for the club’s reach beyond the city and beyond England.
That global presence was felt keenly during Liverpool’s summer tour of Asia, which Van Bronckhorst joined as part of the staff. "You notice all over the world how many fans Liverpool have, even at training sessions. That only gives extra motivation," he said. For someone who has managed clubs with passionate followings like Feyenoord and Rangers, the scenes of thousands of supporters lining streets and filling stands for training sessions still left an impression. It was a reminder of the scale of the challenge and the expectations that come with working for one of the game’s most storied clubs.
His relationship with Arne Slot, while not one of direct past collaboration, is rooted in mutual respect. Both men emerged from the Dutch coaching system, share a belief in possession-based football, and are known for meticulous tactical preparation. Van Bronckhorst’s presence is expected to complement Slot’s leadership style, adding a wealth of managerial perspective to the day-to-day work at Liverpool’s AXA Training Centre. His role will likely involve close work with the defenders and midfielders, drawing on his playing career as a composed, tactically intelligent left-back who could also operate in midfield.
Liverpool’s immediate focus is on the Community Shield clash against Crystal Palace on Sunday, a match that will serve as a curtain-raiser for the Slot era. While pre-season trophies are not the ultimate measure of success, the game offers a chance to build momentum and test combinations ahead of the Premier League opener against Bournemouth a week later. For Van Bronckhorst, these early fixtures are an opportunity to integrate into the squad, understand the personalities in the dressing room, and help implement Slot’s ideas on the pitch.
The Dutchman’s willingness to take a step back from the head coach role speaks to a pragmatic understanding of career progression in football. Sometimes, as he admits, the right move is not the most obvious one. This Liverpool spell could prove to be a valuable learning experience, giving him a new vantage point on elite-level football management and perhaps paving the way for future opportunities. For now, however, he is committed to Liverpool’s cause, driven by the same passion that fuelled his trophy-winning days as a player and his successes as a coach.
If the enthusiasm in his words matches the energy he brings to the role, Liverpool could find that their new assistant is not just a support act to Arne Slot, but an influential figure in their pursuit of silverware in the months ahead.
