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It would be silly to say that Saturday’s Community Shield is super, incredibly important just for Takumi Minamino. But it is more important than any game or tranches of games he has played before for the club.
Minamino is no longer the new kid. He is a fully integrated member of the team. And yet we still don’t know what its exact position is or where it fits in the pecking order – is it the backing false nine? Should I get a chance at number eight on the left side? Is it a rotational wide feed option? If so, does your style blend better to the left or to the right?
It’s time to start getting answers. Minamino’s post-January production and performances were, understandably, disputed. Trying to fit into Jurgen Klopp’s carefully choreographed system is difficult at best. Trying to do it while the team is in giant mode is next to impossible.
When Minamino joined, Liverpool were humming; humming in any way few teams in the history of the Premier League have ever hummed. It was always a question to ask a newbie to stand on a side that had shown unprecedented consistency for over 20 months. Liverpool’s front-line starters – the 14 or more central players that make up the crux of the first team – know each other’s idiosyncrasies. They know that that body shape means, that that move means that when it does that I must do is. It’s a wink-wink connection that has been built over time.
Asking a new player to catch the winks and nods takes time to develop, especially when that player is learning a new language.
And then came the global pandemic. Being stuck in a new city, with a new group of colleagues and teammates, while everyone speaks a language that you are not yet fluent in, is a degree of pressure and isolation that few if any of us can relate to.
As Minamino and his teammates have publicly pointed out, it also gave the player more opportunities to integrate into his team’s culture, to learn some of the stylistic quirks, without moving from game to game.
After the reboot, it seemed like a good time to recover. However, Minamino still struggled. Klopp seemed unsure during the club’s last nine games. Klopp knocked him out against Aston Villa with Divock Origi preferred in the middle. Against Newcastle, Minamino got stuck on the left, forming a hodgepodge of three forwards alongside Origi and Oxlade-Chamberlain that ranged from forced to packed.
Now is the time for Minamino to establish a defined role, even if that role is to be a floating presence that can do multiple jobs, like Oxlade-Chamberlain or James Milner.
Minamino on any wing on the 4-3-3 base is a style that should be kicked to the curb. It compromises the natural breadth and rhythm of the team. While his drift between the lines and his quest to tie the game together is a valuable skill, it is wasted on that base structure where Klopp demands his push to the forwards beyond the defensive line.
If anything, Klopp should experiment with Minamino in a 4-2-3-1 behind Mo Salah, an option he could switch to when Roberto Firmino is unavailable for selection.
Its use in Newcastle on the last day of the season was revealing. Klopp started with Minamino on the left and Origi down the middle, with the two positions interchangeable from possession to possession. In theory, it was a smart tactic with two versatile players taking different positions – it could have dragged defenders out of position and compromised Newcastle’s defensive block. But it was not like that. It made everything static and slow.
And yet there were glimpses. Minamino came to life in the middle, where he was able to fall deep, play in the middle of the round and play link. Those same flashes have been seen in preseason. His touch has been exemplary, even if his body shape and ball control are still a bit weak. You can see the kind of unattainable vision two steps ahead that defined his game in Salzburg and made him such an obvious target for Klopp and company.
It’s not exactly now or never for Minamino. But the first stages of the season, where the games will be intense and fast, will offer him the opportunity to realize his role in the team.
It will be interesting to note how and where Klopp feeds Minamino minutes against Arsenal. It’s one of the few games where the coaching staff can have a concrete plan: you get 60 minutes, you get 30. Coaches always have those vague numbers in their heads, but they change according to the pattern of the game. Klopp is likely sticking to his pregame plan in what is essentially a glorified preseason game. For how long and in what position will we see Minamino? Will we see it at all?
In a transfer window in which the club is expected to do little or no business beyond the addition of Kostas Tsimikas, Minamino needs to step up.
What I’m reading …
It’s the start of another journey for Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. But it is different from any of the above.
An excellent, important and timely piece from Barney Ronay.
Chadwick Boseman’s passing is absolutely heartbreaking. Lots of beautiful pieces have been written about his life and legacy, but this Undefeated resonated in a completely different way.
What I’m seeing …
It’s hard to underestimate how crazy Lionel Messi could leave Barcelona (I’ve certainly covered enough here over the past week, but it’s still WILD for him to go). The end of his career Messi has been somewhat sabotaged by the talks about Messi: the nonsense of Barça in progress; implosions; the GOAT debate; the things of Messi vs. Ronaldo. But never, never, never should we forget the wonder that He has delivered to all football fans. Hell, the Santiago Bernabéu has given him multiple Standing ovation. Multiple! He is truly a once in a lifetime sports star. I’ve been doing builds this week and This is the one I found to offer the best encapsulation of his genius.
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