Liverpool staff Regret as John Heitinga Returns to Ajax
LIVERPOOL,โ ENGLAND – Liverpool Football โClub experienced a sense of disappointment following the โdeparture โคof assistant coach john Heitinga, who recently accepted the headโค coaching โคposition at Ajax Amsterdam. While the move fulfillsโ Heitinga’s long-term ambitions, sources โwithin Anfield confirmโฃ his contributions wereโ highly valued by players and โขstaff alike.
Heitinga, 41, โฃrejoined the Premier League in 2023 after a six-month interim โspell managingโ Ajax, initially serving as an assistant to โขDavid Moyes at West Ham United before transitioning to Arne โขSlot’s staff atโค liverpool.โ His return toโฃ Amsterdam marksโ the culmination of his desire to lead a team, yet his exit leaves โa โฃvoidโฃ atโ Liverpool, were he quickly becameโฃ an โขintegral part of the coaching setup.
According โto James Pearceโฃ of โฃ The Athletic,โฃ the atmosphere surrounding Heitinga’sโฃ departure was “sad.” โคPlayers andโค staff recognized his importance to the โclub, โฃacknowledging his impact bothโค on the training โground and in tactical analysis. Despite understanding his aspirations, liverpool were demonstrably pleased with โขthe former footballer’s work.
Notably, Heitinga played a key mentoring role with midfielder Ryan โคGravenberch, guiding him in theโ nuances of the No. 6 position. Pearce reported that gravenberchโ specifically highlighted Heitinga’s โคinfluence in his progress of tactical โฃunderstanding.Following Heitinga’s move,โค Giovanni van Bronckhorst has stepped in to continue this individualized coaching, maintaining the existingโข structural framework of the Liverpool โฃstaff.