World-class coach announces he is joining Liverpool | OneFootball

A world-class coach with an incredible pedigree is now going to be working at Liverpool.

The Reds have very high expectations. Michael Edwards is working behind the scenes to create a dominant Liverpool team that are a force in Europe and England at every level.

His mission at the first time in charge of the club was to get Liverpool back to the top, Edwards achieved that. Now his goal is to make Liverpool the best club in the world and the place to be.

Looking at the performances on the pitch this season, patience is needed. Liverpool are nowhere near where they want to be yet.

But at the same time, the foundations are being put in place for the Reds to succeed. This can be gauged from the impressive recruitment that is taking place at all levels at the club.

Liverpool are signing some of the best young players in the world.

But it's not just players, behind the scenes Liverpool are also recruiting some of the best minds and professionals within the sport as well.

Another exciting arrival at Anfield that will have gone under the radar was announced earlier this month.

Bafode Diakhaby announced on his LinkedIn page that he's joining Liverpool this year, effective from January.

The name might not mean much to you. Diakhaby is a former Paris Saint Germain academy product, who was actually in the same age group as David Ngog who went onto play for Liverpool.

Diakhaby ended up having a different career path with injuries forcing him to retire at the age of 26. He took up a position at PSG's academy, where he has helped to make the academy one of the best in the world.

Diakhaby is a world-class youth coach who has worked with some of PSG's greatest talents over the last five years, including Warren Zaire-Emery, Senny Mayulu, Ibrahim Mbaye, Moussa Diaby and Joane Gadou. It is thanks in part to his work at PSG's U15 and U16 team that these players were able to progress and eventually join the French giants' first-team.

“My main role is that of an educator. Every sporting activity is associated with an educational message. The pre-training program is based on three components: sports, academics, and education. Although there are people authorised to intervene within the club, I sometimes participate in extracurricular activities," Diakhaby described his role in an interview with Culture PSG.

“In my opinion, the role of an educator is quite similar in all clubs. There’s the role of ambassador, which involves absorbing and transmitting the club’s values ​​to the players, and the role of the coach, who seeks to develop the players in all aspects. At Paris Saint-Germain, the difference lies in the level of expectation. We must strive for excellence everywhere, offer the players the best, demand the best from them, and do so constantly. The ambitions are high: to develop top-level players in a club that wants to be at the top. Therefore, we must provide the necessary resources. This requires a spirit of innovation, research, and a focus on the very highest level.”

Reading how he describes PSG's demands for excellence bodes really well for Liverpool. It's also interesting to to note that Diakhaby integrated some interesting methods to get the most out of his players, including trying to create 'street football' level environments for his young players.

“Interests in football vary across generations. I find that there's much less presence in city pitches, in five-a-side games, in those places where unstructured play is crucial for player development. It's in those moments that players progress tremendously. It's up to us coaches to find the right ways to engage them as well. For several seasons now, in our youth development program, we've been trying to recreate this ' street football' context that characterises our players at times during training sessions. In those moments, some players surprise us, and that passion resurfaces," Diakhaby said.

At Liverpool his role is described as Youth Development Player coach, which will involve working with some of the club's young players to help them reach their maximum potential.

Liverpool could not have found a better man for the role. Diakhaby has proven across his career that he is world-class at what he does. PSG's track-record while he worked at the club speaks for itself.

This is a big coup for the Reds.