Via This is Anfield
Dominik Szoboszlai was a player coaches knew was destined for a “big future"
For Jesse Marsch, the Hungarian’s combination of “belief,” “commitment” and “talent” set him apart.
At just 22, Liverpool’s No. 8 has already amassed 227 senior club appearances and 34 caps for his country
It was only four years ago that Marsch, former Leeds manager, was appointed as the head coach of Red Bull Salzburg, a club Szoboszlai joined only a year previous
Marsch
"I’d spoken to Szobo a little bit before but the first day I showed up, you could see he had such confidence about him. It’s borderline arrogance, but it’s real,”
“He just believes in himself and he’s always believed that he was going to be a big player. I’m drawn to those kind of personalities, I like guys that come with a bit of arrogance to them.
“Germany and Austria are a little different, but in German there’s a word, ‘demütig’, and it means humble. And if you say to somebody anything like, ‘He should stay humble’, it’s an insult because in German they don’t like arrogance.
“But I’m different, I’m American! So I was drawn to him immediately.
“He was still young, a bit immature, and still needed some guidance in terms of how to use his confidence to help benefit him as a player.
“But I watched him play the year before, I really liked him and I thought he had a big future with how I was going to move the team forward.”
Marsch added
“In the beginning, when I was critical of him he didn’t want to hear me,”
“I had a lot of individual video sessions with him, almost every training session, almost every game.
“We would sit down and I would talk to him because with young, talented players like that it’s all about helping them achieve their potential and creating an accelerated learning curve.
“Then, what I call ‘the click’, once they start to understand exactly what’s necessary, it just hits them all at once and then it’s when they take off.”
Marsch continued
“Szobo always had this belief in himself and this vision that he would be playing for the biggest clubs in the world and be the best player in those teams,
“This is all part of the manifestation of his confidence and his belief in himself. Some people may look at it as arrogance but Erling [Haaland] is the same.
“It’s interesting because Erling and Szobo had a really good relationship in Salzburg and, I think, learned a lot from each other.
“But I could see from both of them that they were going to be among the best players in the world because of their enthusiasm, their talent, their belief, their commitment, their work ethic, their desire to improve.
“The vision they had for themselves was different to most players. I don’t think that will ever be an issue for Szobo.
“He’s hit the ground running but, when I see him play, there are still a lot of little things he can do better and I think he will grow and get better as he continues to play.”
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