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3 weeks ago
Sepp van den Berg knew what he had to do. The Brentford centre-half knew what he was going to do. Another summer, different change; different push to find a footballing home. It was June 2024 and arsenic he enjoyed a luncheon successful nan sunshine pinch his relative and friends successful their hometown of Zwolle successful nan Netherlands, he could bespeak connected an fantabulous play connected indebtedness from Liverpool astatine Mainz. “Then I sewage a pat connected my shoulder,” Van den Berg says.
It was Arne Slot. Another feline who had grown up successful nan area. Slot’s first occupation arsenic a head had been pinch nan PEC Zwolle under-13s aft he retired arsenic a subordinate astatine nan nine successful 2013; Van den Berg, playing a twelvemonth up, was successful his squad. Now Slot had been confirmed arsenic Jürgen Klopp’s successor astatine Liverpool and he was looking guardant to nan commencement of pre-season.
“I was a spot surprised,” Van den Berg says. “And possibly it was a small spot awkward. It was conscionable funny … coming from nan aforesaid hometown, he’d coached maine erstwhile I was a kid and now he’s nan feline astatine Liverpool. He was conscionable like: ‘How’s your off-season been? Have you been working? Are you fresh for pre-season?’ I said: ‘Yes, of course.’ But successful my ain head, I was thinking: ‘Yeah, I’m fresh but hopefully I’m not moreover coming backmost for pre-season,’ because I wanted to leave.’”
Van den Berg’s move to Liverpool from PEC Zwolle arsenic a 17-year-old successful 2019 had descended into a nightmare. After making 4 appearances successful nan home cups, he was dropped into nan reserves and came to consciousness forgotten. Living connected his own, he was overwhelmed by loneliness and felt his intelligence wellness crash. It reached nan constituent wherever he did not want to spell successful for training.
It was not nan logic why Van den Berg did not fancy a return to Liverpool pinch Slot because he was backmost connected nan up, having rebuilt himself initially astatine Preston, wherever he went connected indebtedness for nan 2nd half of nan 2020-21 play and nan full of nan pursuing one.
It is arsenic if Van den Berg’s assemblage lightens erstwhile he remembers his clip astatine nan Championship club. “Life-saver is simply a large connection but it opened maine up again,” he says. “I conscionable enjoyed playing and emotion important; emotion useful … fto maine opportunity it this way.”
Van den Berg would strengthen a scary ankle wounded connected indebtedness astatine Schalke successful 2022-23 that needed room and almost 7 months retired but Mainz could hardly person gone better, moreover if what he describes arsenic nan “hierarchical” strategy successful German shot had different consequences.
“I played each crippled for Mainz but I was still 20, 21 and truthful earlier each training I had to cheque nan aerial unit of nan balls and if they were not correct I had to rustle them up myself – pinch nan 2 different young players,” he says. “Every training I had to bring nan balls and nan bibs. And each training I had to bring nan balls and nan bibs backmost in. It’s because you are nan youngest player.”
Van den Berg needed regular starting shot and he knew he would not get it astatine Liverpool. Yet Slot was persuasive. He did spell backmost for nan pre-season and he loved Slot’s sessions, his man-management, too.
“It was wholly different,” Van den Berg says. “The years before, I ne'er had this emotion of maine having a due chance. A fewer weeks down nan line, he was saying: ‘You’re doing very well. I want you to stay.’ If you person nan head of Liverpool saying that, it’s not nothing. So, of course, I started reasoning again. ‘Maybe I should stay, possibly I should motion a caller statement here.’ It was weird.
“He was open, easy to speak to. We’re some Dutch, truthful we are very direct. I for illustration that. He told me: ‘You’re not going to commencement but I judge if you enactment you will get a chance successful nan early to start.’”
Van den Berg was not swayed. He knew what he had to do. His transportation to Brentford for an first £20m was completed towards nan extremity of nan summertime model past twelvemonth and it had to beryllium a unusual feeling, 3 days later, erstwhile he was an unused substitute connected nan visiting chair against Liverpool astatine Anfield successful nan 2nd information of Premier League fixtures.
The defender has recovered alignment astatine Brentford. The much he talks astir nan unit and nan environment, nan much cleanable he makes it sound. It is nan friendliness, nan transparency, nan tone of equality and togetherness. “Because nan building is small, you spot everyone,” he says. “You spot nan method board almost each day. You spot nan proprietor [Matthew Benham] coming into nan dressing room each location crippled and shaking your hand.”
Van den Berg was an important subordinate past play for Thomas Frank, nan head who persuaded him to sign, starting 29 times successful nan league. And he has arguably been moreover much truthful for nan caller manager, Keith Andrews. As he prepares to look Slot and Liverpool astatine nan Gtech Community Stadium connected Saturday, nan numbers show he has not missed a minute.
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The numbers, of course, are a large point astatine Brentford. The crippled is successful nan grip of a information arms title and yet galore clubs are getting theirs from nan aforesaid sources. What sets Brentford isolated and gives them an separator is that nan information they usage is proprietary, in-house, coming principally from Benham, who has made his luck retired of statistical modelling.
“The main logic they signed maine was because my information was very good, particularly astatine Mainz,” Van den Berg says, but it goes deeper than that. Brentford get information connected their players from gym sessions, training and matches – moreover aft matches. “There are truthful galore caller places they tin find information aliases caller things they tin fig out,” Van den Berg says.
It informs Brentford’s attack and truthful does another, much quality item – nan famously strict “No Dickheads” policy. The nine return their owed diligence connected signings very seriously. When they wanted Vitaly Janelt from Bochum successful 2020, for example, they asked him to sanction his favourite restaurant. They past visited it to inquire nan unit really Janelt was pinch them. Did he dainty them pinch respect? When nan answers were positive, they pressed connected pinch nan deal.
“It’s what they person said galore times – we don’t motion dickheads,” Van den Berg says. “I’m utilized to coming into caller clubs and gathering caller group and it was decidedly 1 of nan easiest coming successful here. I emotion everyone successful nan building.”
Van den Berg has recovered a peculiar relationship pinch Brentford’s slumber consultant, Anna West. The measurement he tells it, she is much for illustration a scientist – a neutral outsider successful whom to confide and share, to lessen immoderate burdens. “My girlfriend, Bente, is astatine assemblage successful Amsterdam and my family is successful Zwolle truthful I unrecorded alone,” he says. “It’s conscionable bully pinch Anna to person personification I tin speak to successful person. I find it very helpful.”
It is easy to wonderment whether things would person worked retired amended for Van den Berg if Liverpool had looked aft him differently. “It was decidedly acheronian days,” he says. “As a 17-year-old boy coming successful from a different country, you’re not nan priority.
“I was going location crying astatine immoderate points and past not speaking to anyone. Do you telephone this depressed? I deliberation it’s a spot excessively dense a word. But I wasn’t emotion well. I wasn’t successful nan caput abstraction you are expected to beryllium in. I had nary assurance and that really affected maine arsenic a footballer. I was conscionable perpetually doubting myself, for illustration I was not bully enough. I didn’t want to spell to training, which is not me. Then, you cognize you are really down low.
“Looking back, if personification had taken attraction of maine arsenic a young player, it would person helped me, for sure. For young guys going abroad, going to large clubs, I’d opportunity to parents: ‘Be careful. Make judge nan kid is OK.’ I person beautiful parents, my mum FaceTimes maine each time but still she didn’t cognize 100% really I felt. And for nan clubs, decidedly look retired much for nan younger players.
“On nan different hand, I did study a batch from nan situation. It made maine nan feline I americium today. My wounded astatine Schalke, arsenic good – it makes you stronger. You study truthful overmuch because you spell into specified a acheronian space. It feels for illustration your full world dies successful beforehand of you because shot is your world. Luckily, I survived it.”
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