Hulshoff shares what made Liverpool’s title run so dominant | OneFootball

Champions, Not Just by Name: Sipke Hulshoff’s Insight into Liverpool’s Title Triumph

There is a quiet authority in the way Sipke Hulshoff recounts Liverpool’s Premier League title-winning campaign. His words, shared in a revealing interview with Liverpool FC’s official website, don’t shout – they illuminate. This was a season where methodical planning met elite execution, where evolution was prioritised over revolution, and where the echoes of the past served as the foundation for a new chapter.

Starting from the shadows

Arne Slot and his coaching team, including Hulshoff, stepped into a dressing room shaped by the ethos of Jürgen Klopp. It would have been tempting to draw a line in the sand and mark a new beginning, but Slot’s regime opted instead for synthesis. As Hulshoff put it, “We would be stupid if we don’t use the good things from the coach who was here before.”

The early weeks were a challenge. Senior players were still engaged at Euro 2024 and Copa America, so the new coaches worked primarily with Liverpool’s youngsters. “It felt very comfortable – in Dutch they say, ‘as a fish in the water’,” Hulshoff said, underlining the trust and chemistry between staff and players from the outset.

Quality, from back to front

The step up to Liverpool was stark. “At Feyenoord maybe you see six out of 10 that are quality… but then you come here and most of the time, 10 times out of 10 it is quality,” Hulshoff explained. That distinction speaks volumes about the standards at Anfield and the readiness of the players to absorb and execute new ideas.

Even the early stumble against Nottingham Forest served a purpose. “It did not open our eyes but… we saw and felt what the level was from this competition,” Hulshoff said. The result wasn’t disastrous – it was instructive.

Peak performance, defining moments

If one week summarised the team’s development, it was the back-to-back victories over Real Madrid and Manchester City. “Top-level football, how we pressed them, the intensity of the games, the reaction from the crowd,” Hulshoff said. It wasn’t just about results – it was about the manner in which they were achieved.

Photo: IMAGO

By the time Liverpool hammered Spurs 5-1 to confirm the title, it felt less like a crowning moment and more like an inevitable conclusion. Hulshoff’s reflections on that day – “you could feel that something special would happen” – carry the weight of both achievement and gratitude.

Entertainment and identity

There’s poetry in how Hulshoff compares football to a Bruce Springsteen concert. “That’s also why I love to do attacking football… the people, we want to give them a nice evening.” It’s a sentiment that neatly summarises the Slot-Hulshoff era so far: tactical clarity, physical and mental intensity, but always with the crowd in mind.

Never less than 100 per cent

The final takeaway? “You can never win in this league when you are at 90 per cent.” That, Hulshoff insists, is the key lesson from the 2024-25 campaign – a statement that will surely shape Liverpool’s defence of their crown next season.

Our View – Anfield Index Analysis

What strikes most Liverpool supporters from Sipke Hulshoff’s reflections is the balance of humility and ambition that defines this new coaching team. Slot and Hulshoff didn’t stride into Anfield to rewrite the script – they embraced what came before and carefully wove their own ideas into the fabric of Liverpool’s identity.

Fans will be pleased to hear how central attacking football remains to the philosophy. The comparison with Bruce Springsteen might sound quirky, but it lands. There’s a reason Anfield was electric in that double-header against Real Madrid and Manchester City – it wasn’t just the scoreline, it was the spectacle.

The 0-1 loss to Nottingham Forest being framed as a learning curve rather than a crisis also reflects a maturity in the dugout. Under Klopp, Liverpool often bounced back with force – this team is doing the same under new leadership.

There’s something reassuring about the transparency Hulshoff offers. He doesn’t sugar-coat the level of the Premier League, nor does he downplay the pressure of working at Liverpool. But most importantly, he conveys that this group of coaches genuinely care about giving fans something to celebrate. And after a season like this, they’ve done just that.