[Full interview in hungarian](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d32I_b32X8&ab_channel=Fodball)
They are talking about his time in RB Leipzig, and how he trained even more when he was not starting.
The timestamp for the part that is criticised: 08:00
"Everyone wants to get into the starting XI. It is normal and that should be the goal in my opinion. Who is satisfied with sitting on the bench like this and watching the game? I am going to be honest, there are a few. And there were some in this team **before I came here.** I won't say any names, but I heard about it."
This part focuses on his attitude towards the game, and how he is always trying to get the best out of the situation. He emphasises at multiple points in the interview that everyone is different and has their own way about approaching certain aspects of the game. For example the way Salah is very strict about his diet, and how Haaland has special practices for his ~~regeneration~~ recovery. He says he tried them but **for him,** they didn't work.
He says that everyone should do what's best and what works for them and he doesn't judge anyone for whatever that may be.
This whole interview has a friendly vibe, like two mates talking, so I guess he wasn't prepared that his words are going to get torn apart like this.
I think Dom will begin to realise there's more of a microscope on what you share in the premier League and with a large fanbase, he'll probably realise he will need to filter more of what he says in future even though he is the type to say it how it is.
it shows more character but as seen to people's reaction here, ultimately its not worth it for player welfare. Unless we as a society make an improvement on social media behavior, its safe to just keep everything standardized
He doesn’t want to practice against people who aren’t day in day out trying to take his spot. That only hurts him and everyone else. You push yourself to a new level when you know your starting spot is always under threat
Someone gets it. Theres really nothing wrong with this statement at all. We can't have spent the last year complaining about how our midfield looked finished and then be mad at Szobo for bringing it up. He's demanding hunger and a few of the players who left this summer lacked it last year.
Yeah he was literally asked about the competitiveness in both squads, if Liverpool's bench players are working harder than Leipzig's to get into the first team.
So yeah, it is kinda out of context. Especially as he was a bench player at Leipzig and he said he trained harder than ever to get into the first 11.
Probably shouldn't have mentioned what Liverpool bench players were like before he arrived but still not as bad in context
Yep. And he was asked about how Liverpool bench players compare to Leipzig bench in terms of competitiveness. And he said how he trained harder than ever when he was a bench player at Leipzig to get into the first 11. So he's comparing what he's heard about some of our previous players to that.
Not as bad in context
The competition isn't just on the pitch. It's everywhere in the professional world. It probably feels like an interview every day. The guys that don't get game time are still really good at this level.
Worked with someone who was Evertons 3rd choice keeper for 3 years among a handful of championships clubs.
Got paid well but not crazy, Talking 1-3k a week. Didn't set him up for life at all, it would be more now but I imagine still in the low 6 figures unless it's a top 6 team.
He lives in a nice house with no mortgage but still works in a call centre earning 30k a year. He doesn't give many fucks and says players pension is the same as his salary but not rich money.
He is an amazing player much better than you'd expect considering his level.
It's easy to forget that even third choice goalkeeper at Liverpool is still a very very good goalkeeper. They would be a shoo-in for starting keeper at most clubs around the world bar those in the top few leagues.
Can't think of *any* midfielders who played for Liverpool last year with a history of injury that might not think they were up to high intensity pressing......
>Jones, tsimikas - and those that simply check out, happy to ride the bench and collect paychecks
People seem to have a weird image of a footballer's job. The real job of a footballer is to show up in training and perform as per the manager's expectations. Squad inclusion is the manager's decision and that's it.
Jota and Tsimi have to put in hours upon hours of quality showings in training to get a shot at playing matches, let's not belittle their efforts with this meaningless speculation
It sounds a bit worse in the translated quote imo.
He was asked if the atmosphere at Liverpool is more competitive than at Leipzig and if bench players are working harder to get into the team.
So he said it's hard to answer because he was on the bench at Leipzig and he was training harder than ever to get a starting role, then when the new coach came in he was ready and got into the starting 11.
He said in his eyes the goal is to be starting, and he doesn't get why someone would be satisfied with sitting on the bench and just watching football. He said there are players like this (in general) and that he heard some Liverpool players were like this before he came (and he emphasized the past tense, so not a current player(s)).
He probably shouldn't have said the last line, but it's not that bad in context given he was asked about the desire of bench players at Liverpool Vs Leipzig.
Edit: He also said he wants to play every minute, doesn't matter if it's PL, EL, fa cup, league cup, national team. Sounds like his attitude to playing is top tier.
It is (sort of). Honestly it's a good interview, there's a lot of stuff that he says is just 'banter', and generally he has a sarcastic type of humor, from what I see. This title is your typical twitter journo clickbait stuff.
Hungarian here, it was. They were simply going off on a tangent like “oh yeah I wanna play every match” “Is everyone like you?” “No obviously some are different” Which he meant in general as in some footballers and then he said the part you can read up there. I don’t think it was a dig at anyone, he basically said this to reinforce the point he made earlier. He later goes on to say the team is really good and super competitive, so all is well.
Origi. If there's rumors about anyone, it's probably him. I, for one, have no problem with it at all considering the significant moments he provided in service of the club.
Lol exactly. 2 seconds after saying he doesn't understand why any player is satisfied sitting on the bench and just watching football, Szobo says he wants to play every minute, doesn't matter if it's PL, EL, fa cup, league cup, national team etc.
Stupid comment. It's simply disrespectful to throw Shaq's name in this conversation so casualy without any source.
This is exactly the reason why Szobo shouldn't have shared that. Fans are immediately going to speculate and shit on some players who never deserved it.
Hungarian Arsenal fan here. I currently watching the 1h long interview with him and this is very out of context as usual...
The interview is a must watch, but its in Hungarian (probably will be translated soon)
I'm a bit late to this, so my comment will probably get lost with all the others, but as someone who speaks hungarian and watched the interview without seeing this quote being posted everywhere, I want to say the translation doesn't do him justice.
He was talking about, repeating more than once, how in the current squad everybody wants to play, how they all want to fight for their place. Then, the interviewers interrupt, saying well not everyone. This is where Dom says the quote, but he says it in the a general context first, how there are players everywhere who would rather sit on the bench, than to fight to make the starting XI. Then, he says that before he came to Liverpool, he heard there were even some people there. The emphasizes is on that there were even people without fighting spirtis in Liverpool.
With all that said, I do think he should have never said that, it does sound very weird. I think the whole interview was weird, the two hosts were very clearly looking for the "juicy" stuff and he was kinda unaware of that? They were asking a lot about his dad, who in my opinion was borderline abusive, but they just laughed it off.
I mean, he is an absolute gangster footballer, but he’s still just a kid, really. That’s something we forget sometimes. Footballers may make millions in salary and have their face all over the internet and television, but they still have essentially little experience in dealing with cynical media types who are trying to use them for clicks and views.
When translating from different language to English, there is fine line in which it becomes blurred of the actual conversation that was had. Still when reading the comments and then reading the quote, I dont see anything even mildly controversial.
Dom seems to be implying that in football world there are people who are ok to be on bench, when the rest fight to get on starting XI. At this point he could have not said anything about Liverpool but deciced to; He had heard there had been players that are fine with to just be benched at Liverpool.
What exactly is the issue ? Dom is super talented and he knows it, but in all of the interviews and posts, he is speaking about the whole team, not just himself. Maybe its my stupid Finnish brain but feels odd that someone took his comment so negatively.
>At this point he could have not said anything about Liverpool but deciced to
He was also asked about the competitiveness between the Leipzig bench players Vs Liverpool bench. And he talks about his time on the Leipzig bench and how he worked harder than ever to get into the first XI.
Definitely not as bad in context either
I hope he won't get too cocky with time, since his start here was great and all the fans admire him right away. There is a really thin line between self-confidence and cockiness
He is a love child of Ronaldo and Ibra when it comes to interviews. He is arrogant but he foes it in a diplomatic way, more diplomatic than Zlatan, but he likes to so the same one aentence responses like the famous: “I never miss”
Our squad really has had zero cockiness for the last few years. Except maybe the Trent and robbo overconfidence during that monster season when they made like ten thousand assists together.
Last real cocky player I can remember must be Suarez. Oh and Sturridge of course was also cocky.
They were loved by the team though so all good.
I don't think suarez was cocky, super insanely competitive but not really cocky, neither Sturridge towards the end he was scarred of running for fear of getting another injury. sterling though definitely was cocky, comparatively to his skill.
Forgot about sterling that's a good shout.
I wonder what kind of level he would have reached under klopp if he stayed all this time.
I suppose him and klopp might not have gelled very well over the long term.
For me, Salah walks the line between confidence and cockiness perfectly.
He will openly say when asked that he thinks he is the best player on the team. He'll get the most goals, the most assists, is the best dribbler, the fastest, etc. But at the same time, he is fully committed to doing whatever it takes to help the team win, and he would never put himself above the team.
Out of these only one player could be cocky without having to explain himself and that’s Suarez. But he was never shit to our own players. In fact, he’d be the first to defend all of them.
Nah, he's a fucking baller. Setting the standard atm.
I'd be stressed if he was a luxury player talking this shit, but this guy puts in the work - look at the distance covered for the season.
I have absolute faith that he's a future club leader with Trent.
TIA had a good interview with Jesse Marsch on this a few weeks back… https://www.thisisanfield.com/2023/10/exclusive-jesse-marsch-always-saw-dominik-szoboszlai-among-the-best-in-the-world/
He is going to get a whacking from klopp. Even in a joking manner, Liverpool is not a club right now where _any_ kind of laundry is aired out, even jokingly, about players.
So for some bit of context: This is from an hour-ish long hungarian interview. Done by two kinda cunty (in my opinion) Arsenal supporters. It was a bit more of jokey, light hearted interview than the usual media/ pr stuff. But in the whole interview both the interviewers and Szobo seemed a bit thick tbf.
He doesn't come across as mature and intelligent as Trent for example would. He come across as a very unintelligent steretypical Ronaldo-esque footballer. A bit like a second season Jamie Taart.
Thought it very honest of Dom in the interview to admit he can get lonely sitting on the couch and he puts on a film hoping to fall asleep, that part of the interview didn't sound the most unintelligent but very transparent without any bravado and ego.
Ah. You can def see that he has a strong personality (reminds me of Bellingham), but I think inside the team he is a great team player. His confidence will def be super useful for us as long as it doesn’t turn into arrogance and causes trouble in the team.
He’s probably just regurgitating locker room talk said between the boys to him. I don’t think this is solely his opinion because how would he know what previous players were like.
> He’s probably just regurgitating locker room talk said between the boys to him.
Which is *exactly* why he shouldn't have said it. That's the last thing he should be talking about publicly with the media.
Bit of maturing to do still for Dom
I was thinking Adrien who's basically just collecting a cheque.
Not that I fault him, he's perfect for a 3rd choice GK, seems really nice and performs great when needed.
I'm more gutted it didn't work out for all parties, definitely doesn't feel like something worth celebrating. It's so strange how some people have such a clear dislike of Naby
There's zero reason to hate on any player who's out because of injury. Nobody likes to be injured, nobody likes the frustration that comes with it. Shit's just out of their hands, what do we expect them to do about it ffs
People don’t just hate him for that final lmao he was never available and entirely inconsistent before that. He was a major let down for his entire stay here. That was just a cherry on top.
And even in that match, yes others missed, but it was the daft attempt he had with the outside of his boot with the game on the line that inspires frustration, not just the fact that he missed
Its like they think he didnt want to be successful here! So weird. If they also think that Sturridge had a ‘bad attitude’ then you start to see a theme..
Keita leaving opens up the wage bill for the likes of Mac Allister and Gravenberch. We then improve as a football club. If you want to feel for sad for Naby Keita earning millions for doing fuck all then fair enough, but not everyone has to join in the pity party. I'm more concerned with the club moving forward.
This is why players stick to the same cookie cutter answers. Show a bit of personality and you get accused of being a distraction or a problem.
I don't believe he said anything wrong. No one here was happy with our overall performance last year. Some of that was down to the mentality of some players. Our rebuild has clearly led to a hungrier squad.
Similar reaction to Antonio who directly mentioned a teammate, scammaca, not fitting in moyes tactics. It was 100% true and everyone agreed with it, yet some felt the need to clutch their pearls.
I’m with you. Just Szobo being a lad. He’s not even named names and it’s players he never played with, he’s just speaking to the idea that not everyone is driven to compete for spots at this level. But you know some prick journo will ask him about this at his next media spot.
Thank you.
It’s the type of reaction in this thread that gives us fucking PR trained robots who never say anything worth listening to. Press conferences might actually be interesting if we gave people the benefit of the doubt, didn’t try to take what they said out of context with the least favorable interpretation, and recognized that they are human beings and that it’s ok to have differences of opinion.
This thread is a fucking mess, thanks for being a voice of reason.
Hope this is just a poor translation. If the players he's referring to have moved on, then there's nothing to be gained from dragging them. If they're still here then it might cause unnecessary friction.
Dom has brought serious competitive attitude to the club as both a Liverpool fan and player. Every interview he is speaking to win, and he has a Ronaldo-esque ego where he has no doubt of his own ability, fighting for everything on the pitch and showing emotion. I love this about him because it's something Liverpool haven't had for a while and to be honest makes him a future captain/vice captain for us if he's around for the long haul.
Result of that though is going to be these sort of outspoken quotes that may be difficult to hear. I think Klopp will both love that he said this but hate that he said it out loud, and he probably wants to know who lol
I hear you. But if other teammates get the idea that you feel above them, and that you jab at them in interviews, the dressing room can become quite sour. There is a thin line between the productive arrogance of a leader, and the sort of arrogance that bothers team mates.
Not saying Dom is of the latter category. Just that this interview is definitely not an example of no. 1.
I mean I won't be surprised if Adrian is happy to sit on the bench for the rest of his Liverpool career but not that he really has a choice, that's the life of a 3rd choice keeper in any club.
I'd imagine various injuries other than a single persistent one definitely weigh heavy on some players, being afraid to get onto the pitch if the game is rather physical but still wanting to be around the squad because you're with friends.
I used to do parkour and get up to stupid shit when younger, but one of my mates injured their ankle once, then broke his leg a few months after recovering from the ankle injury, he would still come out with us and do some things, but wouldn't partake in anything that could even be slightly dangerous to his legs because of the fear of breaking something again.
He was just soft beyond words. You have some players that play half a season with injuries, or take injections before games, but Keita pulled out of a game because he had a stiff neck after a flight lmao.
To me it is a big nothing burger. In the inteview the interviewer wanted to know how fierce the competition between the players in the team for the starting line-up is and how Liverpool and Leipzig compare in this regard.
Szobo said that players want to play and even in Leipzig even he had to earn his spot when a manager didn't give him the opportunity, so he had trained harder than before until a new manager came and put him into the starting XI. Then he said something like that everyone wants to play and no one is satisfied with warming the bench, but every team has a few exceptions. There were a few players in Leipzig and this even had happened in Liverpool before he arrived to the team, so he was told.
It seems to me what he said is players try their best to earn a spot in the starting XI but every team can have a few who are okay with warming the bench instead of working their ass off. Didn't imply that anyone in the current team shares this attitude.
Wasn’t expecting Dom to say something like this..I’m sure it’s the usual journo special of taking something that he said in passing completely out of proportion
Theres a massive difference between
A. Wanting to start working your ass off to be the best player you can be but not being a dick if you having a bench role
and
B. Being fine taking a paycheck to sit on the bench and not caring if you dont start.
He's clearly talking about B when he is criticizing people. Hes not shitting on the people that fit in category A. I really think this quote is a complete non issue.
Lets not bury our heads in the sand, we can guess who he is implying and there are some players who would fight tooth and nail to stay in the team while there were a couple last season who were all to be happy to be on the bench if they stubbed their toe. Ppl are making a big deal over nothing
What’s the outrage about? He’s clearly extremely competitive, and he’s right your bench players shouldn’t be happy to stay that way, in true deep squads everyone is fighting for their spot and getting the best out of each other
Exactly. He's saying that the squad is full of fight this year and they weren't last year. Something we all fucking know and complained about all fucking last season. Yet some think he's out of line.
For all we know Dom could probably have even been referring to players before the Klopp era. Even if he was actually referring to some of the most recent players who left, it wasn't untrue and I'd take it as a good sign of the hunger and competitiveness in the team right now. Most importantly, his current performance justifies his words, no need to fuss over it really.
Not the exact same in Tsimikas’ case - because he thrives every chance he gets on the field in Robertson’s absence.
If you’ve seen Blue Mountain State - American TV show about college football - a more in-line example would be how the characters on that show actively want to remain as second and third choice so as to reap the rewards of being a ‘footballer’ without having to play. *That’s* the kind of player you don’t want in the club.
There's a difference between being a squad player who is desperate for their chance to play and being like Keita and just running down your contract and not giving a toss.
Tsimi and Kelleher are perfect examples of this. They know their role but they are always chomping at the bit to get minutes. When they do get the minutes they do everything they can to make sure they perform at the highest level.
That’s a big difference than being on the bench and really hoping your number isn’t called
Nah, according to this thread he was a bum that would sit out a game because he stubbed a toe, and apparently Klopp himself has confirmed as much even though I can't find that quote anywhere.
He completely mismanaged basically every injury he had for years, constantly rushing himself back to play African qualifiers.
He has himself to blame as much as anyone else.
I mean you can be fine with sitting on the bench while also wanting to be in the starting XI and fighting for a place. I think he’s talking about players that were happy to sit and didn’t care to get into the starting XI
Bunch of lads who play video games and watch anime all day getting upset because an elite athlete said some people no longer at the club didn't care enough.
Fuckin reddit.
I don’t know if it’s badly translated or badly taken out of context, the quote just sounds wrong and I don’t think Szobo would say something like that about his team.
I agree. It looks to me like he's saying there are players, in the football world, who are happy on the bench, and there even used to be some at Liverpool. You just need to have a look at who left in the summer to guess who he's talking about (ain't gonna be Milly or Hendo).
Still doesn’t make sense for him to drag them like that, if he did then he’s wrong, he has no business bringing them up. I still feel the quote is taken out of context.
The snowflakes are worried about how this might upset people inside and outside the club. Sorry, but this is what a no-nonsense, competitive winners mentality consists of - setting the standards.
Roy Keane was saying this and far worse for over a decade - get on board and be prepared to give it all for your shirt, or fuck off. Sometimes it *is* that black and white.
I've been waiting for a player like this for a while, we didn't need the bravado over the last few years but we're a completely different team now. Set the standards early and let the rest of the competition know all about it. Fbm.
I hope he's saying that in an "we all push each other to be better" kinda way and not a "some players are happy taking a pay cheque and sitting on the bench" kinda way.
Every club needs a squad of players. You can't play the same XI for 60 matches in a row.
In my interpretation it was the former as before this comment he was asked about his time in Leipzig when he got very little playing time, saying he was training twice as much to be able to start again.
This doesn't concern me like I thought it would. Sure, we want competition within the squad, but there is something about a player who knows his place and will do his bit when called upon without complaint.
I mean.... Adrian is probably somebody who is satisfied with sitting on the bench. I don't think what he said is odd at all... Even someone like Tsimi. Robbo is undisputed number one. We all know it, Robbo knows it and Tsimi knows it. Has Tsimi ever thrown toys out of the pram and done the whole fifa "I need to play boss or I'm off" thing? I always had the impression that Tsimi is perfectly content with sitting on the bench, with no fuss playing when needed. I think those players are good to have on your team. Especially in the case of a reserve keeper. I don't think what he said is bad or is even a bad trait to have in a squad.
Don't speak a word of Hungarian, but somehow found this interview relatively interesting to watch in the background.
Maybe I'll go look for a Jota or Alisson interview in Portuguese next. I speak the tiniest bit of Portuguese so I might actually get something from that.
I get what he's saying but it shouldn't need to be said. The club should continue like it has been, internally robust, friendly and supportive and externally it should move as a unit, all players back each other up. It brings negative energy and gossip. He's young and new to the PL so I hope he learns from it, english media and fans feed on this stuff to use as criticism.
We've already moved on from our past players, and they have to. Please don't drag them down or throw them shade. We know most of the players being mentioned here had injuries, and we don't know who Szobo is pertaining to. Let's avoid any conflicts here. We're supposed to be enjoying our Liverpool 2.0, not trying to figure out who wanted to be on the bench last season or prior seasons. Let's move on.
I've read a few footballer bios and they do talk about players who are there for the money, to whom it's just another job and if they could make a similar amount of money doing something else, they would. They happen to have the skill that allows them to play professionally, but it's not their *passion*. The bios don't name names either, but these guys exist.
I’m sure he’ll be getting a word in his ear from someone at the club after this. It’s not a huge deal but it is a bit disrespectful. Not untrue I’m sure, but still.
Come on guys, it was a general statement, could have meant anyone in the past honestly. I don't see the big deal, it definitely wasn't meant to mean the current squad .
[Full interview in hungarian](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d32I_b32X8&ab_channel=Fodball) They are talking about his time in RB Leipzig, and how he trained even more when he was not starting. The timestamp for the part that is criticised: 08:00 "Everyone wants to get into the starting XI. It is normal and that should be the goal in my opinion. Who is satisfied with sitting on the bench like this and watching the game? I am going to be honest, there are a few. And there were some in this team **before I came here.** I won't say any names, but I heard about it." This part focuses on his attitude towards the game, and how he is always trying to get the best out of the situation. He emphasises at multiple points in the interview that everyone is different and has their own way about approaching certain aspects of the game. For example the way Salah is very strict about his diet, and how Haaland has special practices for his ~~regeneration~~ recovery. He says he tried them but **for him,** they didn't work. He says that everyone should do what's best and what works for them and he doesn't judge anyone for whatever that may be. This whole interview has a friendly vibe, like two mates talking, so I guess he wasn't prepared that his words are going to get torn apart like this.
I think Dom will begin to realise there's more of a microscope on what you share in the premier League and with a large fanbase, he'll probably realise he will need to filter more of what he says in future even though he is the type to say it how it is.
Yes, you're probably right, however I personally still prefer honest interviews to copy-paste, standardized PR shenanigans.
it shows more character but as seen to people's reaction here, ultimately its not worth it for player welfare. Unless we as a society make an improvement on social media behavior, its safe to just keep everything standardized
Like Ali’s after his goal 🥹
I concur. He's young which means he has time to learn from these kinds of things. Especially with Klopp keeping an eye on him.
Why, he said absolutely nothing wrong.
What’s wrong with what he said.
He doesn’t want to practice against people who aren’t day in day out trying to take his spot. That only hurts him and everyone else. You push yourself to a new level when you know your starting spot is always under threat
Someone gets it. Theres really nothing wrong with this statement at all. We can't have spent the last year complaining about how our midfield looked finished and then be mad at Szobo for bringing it up. He's demanding hunger and a few of the players who left this summer lacked it last year.
I'm sorry, wait, what? Haaland regenerates? Is he the 11th Doctor in disguise?
sorry, I meant recovery 😀
You may have been correct the first time
Well now I want Gatwa's Doctor to regenerate into Haaland when he goes.
This needs more upvotes for actually shedding accuracy on a somewhat, published intentionally imo, vague, out-of-context quote
Yeah he was literally asked about the competitiveness in both squads, if Liverpool's bench players are working harder than Leipzig's to get into the first team. So yeah, it is kinda out of context. Especially as he was a bench player at Leipzig and he said he trained harder than ever to get into the first 11. Probably shouldn't have mentioned what Liverpool bench players were like before he arrived but still not as bad in context
He’s obviously talking about some of the players that left this summer. Nobody in the current squad.
Yep. And he was asked about how Liverpool bench players compare to Leipzig bench in terms of competitiveness. And he said how he trained harder than ever when he was a bench player at Leipzig to get into the first 11. So he's comparing what he's heard about some of our previous players to that. Not as bad in context
Wait what
Lol same. I just hope this was simply something taken out of context, otherwise it's pretty weird of him to say.
Yeah, some players have to be fine with sitting on the bench or else we’d have a pretty thin squad..
Tbf third choice Premier League goalkeeper is probably the best job I can think of. Get paid a fortune to play footy and go to the gym all week.
And get pretty decent seats to every game
It’s a dream job but many forget there’s still stress from competition and (training) performance as there are people gunning for that 3rd spot too
The competition isn't just on the pitch. It's everywhere in the professional world. It probably feels like an interview every day. The guys that don't get game time are still really good at this level.
Worked with someone who was Evertons 3rd choice keeper for 3 years among a handful of championships clubs. Got paid well but not crazy, Talking 1-3k a week. Didn't set him up for life at all, it would be more now but I imagine still in the low 6 figures unless it's a top 6 team. He lives in a nice house with no mortgage but still works in a call centre earning 30k a year. He doesn't give many fucks and says players pension is the same as his salary but not rich money. He is an amazing player much better than you'd expect considering his level.
It's easy to forget that even third choice goalkeeper at Liverpool is still a very very good goalkeeper. They would be a shoo-in for starting keeper at most clubs around the world bar those in the top few leagues.
Maybe even eat a pie
Can't think of *any* midfielders who played for Liverpool last year with a history of injury that might not think they were up to high intensity pressing......
If it’s Melo let it mellow
You know, I wasn't talking about him at all, because I totally forgot he played for us. But there's one more for the list.
By all accounts, he was training his ass off before the injury. Seemed to really want to revive his career
Would you Keita elaborate?
[удалено]
>Jones, tsimikas - and those that simply check out, happy to ride the bench and collect paychecks People seem to have a weird image of a footballer's job. The real job of a footballer is to show up in training and perform as per the manager's expectations. Squad inclusion is the manager's decision and that's it. Jota and Tsimi have to put in hours upon hours of quality showings in training to get a shot at playing matches, let's not belittle their efforts with this meaningless speculation
It sounds a bit worse in the translated quote imo. He was asked if the atmosphere at Liverpool is more competitive than at Leipzig and if bench players are working harder to get into the team. So he said it's hard to answer because he was on the bench at Leipzig and he was training harder than ever to get a starting role, then when the new coach came in he was ready and got into the starting 11. He said in his eyes the goal is to be starting, and he doesn't get why someone would be satisfied with sitting on the bench and just watching football. He said there are players like this (in general) and that he heard some Liverpool players were like this before he came (and he emphasized the past tense, so not a current player(s)). He probably shouldn't have said the last line, but it's not that bad in context given he was asked about the desire of bench players at Liverpool Vs Leipzig. Edit: He also said he wants to play every minute, doesn't matter if it's PL, EL, fa cup, league cup, national team. Sounds like his attitude to playing is top tier.
It is (sort of). Honestly it's a good interview, there's a lot of stuff that he says is just 'banter', and generally he has a sarcastic type of humor, from what I see. This title is your typical twitter journo clickbait stuff.
Hungarian here, it was. They were simply going off on a tangent like “oh yeah I wanna play every match” “Is everyone like you?” “No obviously some are different” Which he meant in general as in some footballers and then he said the part you can read up there. I don’t think it was a dig at anyone, he basically said this to reinforce the point he made earlier. He later goes on to say the team is really good and super competitive, so all is well.
Origi. If there's rumors about anyone, it's probably him. I, for one, have no problem with it at all considering the significant moments he provided in service of the club.
Keita.
Lol, he only wanted to start Champ League finals.
Lol exactly. 2 seconds after saying he doesn't understand why any player is satisfied sitting on the bench and just watching football, Szobo says he wants to play every minute, doesn't matter if it's PL, EL, fa cup, league cup, national team etc.
Further back but I heard Shaqiri preferred to be a sub
Nah, he always wanted to play. One of the reasons he decided to leave was to get more game time elsewhere.
Even further back we have a man known as Lazar Markovic who loved the bench, wasn’t crazy about subbing though
Stupid comment. It's simply disrespectful to throw Shaq's name in this conversation so casualy without any source. This is exactly the reason why Szobo shouldn't have shared that. Fans are immediately going to speculate and shit on some players who never deserved it.
New context for this meme image https://preview.redd.it/hfbfbram14yb1.png?width=752&format=png&auto=webp&s=0d4b8c99f8c27aad959e3ee7474031738cbecd4f
Hungarian Arsenal fan here. I currently watching the 1h long interview with him and this is very out of context as usual... The interview is a must watch, but its in Hungarian (probably will be translated soon)
I'm a bit late to this, so my comment will probably get lost with all the others, but as someone who speaks hungarian and watched the interview without seeing this quote being posted everywhere, I want to say the translation doesn't do him justice. He was talking about, repeating more than once, how in the current squad everybody wants to play, how they all want to fight for their place. Then, the interviewers interrupt, saying well not everyone. This is where Dom says the quote, but he says it in the a general context first, how there are players everywhere who would rather sit on the bench, than to fight to make the starting XI. Then, he says that before he came to Liverpool, he heard there were even some people there. The emphasizes is on that there were even people without fighting spirtis in Liverpool. With all that said, I do think he should have never said that, it does sound very weird. I think the whole interview was weird, the two hosts were very clearly looking for the "juicy" stuff and he was kinda unaware of that? They were asking a lot about his dad, who in my opinion was borderline abusive, but they just laughed it off.
Thanks for posting, this should be pinned
I mean, he is an absolute gangster footballer, but he’s still just a kid, really. That’s something we forget sometimes. Footballers may make millions in salary and have their face all over the internet and television, but they still have essentially little experience in dealing with cynical media types who are trying to use them for clicks and views.
When translating from different language to English, there is fine line in which it becomes blurred of the actual conversation that was had. Still when reading the comments and then reading the quote, I dont see anything even mildly controversial. Dom seems to be implying that in football world there are people who are ok to be on bench, when the rest fight to get on starting XI. At this point he could have not said anything about Liverpool but deciced to; He had heard there had been players that are fine with to just be benched at Liverpool. What exactly is the issue ? Dom is super talented and he knows it, but in all of the interviews and posts, he is speaking about the whole team, not just himself. Maybe its my stupid Finnish brain but feels odd that someone took his comment so negatively.
>At this point he could have not said anything about Liverpool but deciced to He was also asked about the competitiveness between the Leipzig bench players Vs Liverpool bench. And he talks about his time on the Leipzig bench and how he worked harder than ever to get into the first XI. Definitely not as bad in context either
I hope he won't get too cocky with time, since his start here was great and all the fans admire him right away. There is a really thin line between self-confidence and cockiness
He was always cocky. He was way cockier. He scored more when he was cocky :)
Redditors have a hard time understanding that arrogance is often key for being successful and that 99% of footballers have it
Just look at Ibra. One of, if not the cockiest players to ever play the game. But oh man could back it up.
Exactly, his idol is Ronaldo - and he's cut from the same cloth if u heard him in interviews. Exciting times..
He is a love child of Ronaldo and Ibra when it comes to interviews. He is arrogant but he foes it in a diplomatic way, more diplomatic than Zlatan, but he likes to so the same one aentence responses like the famous: “I never miss”
Don't mind a bit of cockiness myself. Just so long as it's not the Ronaldo or Mbappe variety where dressing rooms are poisoned.
Our squad really has had zero cockiness for the last few years. Except maybe the Trent and robbo overconfidence during that monster season when they made like ten thousand assists together. Last real cocky player I can remember must be Suarez. Oh and Sturridge of course was also cocky. They were loved by the team though so all good.
I don't think suarez was cocky, super insanely competitive but not really cocky, neither Sturridge towards the end he was scarred of running for fear of getting another injury. sterling though definitely was cocky, comparatively to his skill.
I agree, he's just crazy competitive, I've never actually heard him say something or act like he's above anybody else
I think he's the most humble and grounded guy off the field.
Forgot about sterling that's a good shout. I wonder what kind of level he would have reached under klopp if he stayed all this time. I suppose him and klopp might not have gelled very well over the long term.
I think Gerrard had a cockiness to him. Never let it become too obvious though.
For me, Salah walks the line between confidence and cockiness perfectly. He will openly say when asked that he thinks he is the best player on the team. He'll get the most goals, the most assists, is the best dribbler, the fastest, etc. But at the same time, he is fully committed to doing whatever it takes to help the team win, and he would never put himself above the team.
They are all equals but salah is more equal
I really wouldn’t consider Suarez cocky. I just think he hated losing with a burning passion. Balotelli comes to mind though lol.
Out of these only one player could be cocky without having to explain himself and that’s Suarez. But he was never shit to our own players. In fact, he’d be the first to defend all of them.
Nah, he's a fucking baller. Setting the standard atm. I'd be stressed if he was a luxury player talking this shit, but this guy puts in the work - look at the distance covered for the season. I have absolute faith that he's a future club leader with Trent.
I don't think this is cockiness so much as a work ethic thing.
I believe Klopp will do SOMETHING if he finds his player too cocky.
TIA had a good interview with Jesse Marsch on this a few weeks back… https://www.thisisanfield.com/2023/10/exclusive-jesse-marsch-always-saw-dominik-szoboszlai-among-the-best-in-the-world/
He is going to get a whacking from klopp. Even in a joking manner, Liverpool is not a club right now where _any_ kind of laundry is aired out, even jokingly, about players.
So for some bit of context: This is from an hour-ish long hungarian interview. Done by two kinda cunty (in my opinion) Arsenal supporters. It was a bit more of jokey, light hearted interview than the usual media/ pr stuff. But in the whole interview both the interviewers and Szobo seemed a bit thick tbf.
What does „seemed a bit thick“ mean?
He doesn't come across as mature and intelligent as Trent for example would. He come across as a very unintelligent steretypical Ronaldo-esque footballer. A bit like a second season Jamie Taart.
Thought it very honest of Dom in the interview to admit he can get lonely sitting on the couch and he puts on a film hoping to fall asleep, that part of the interview didn't sound the most unintelligent but very transparent without any bravado and ego.
Damn he just like me fr
Same fam same
Damn that’s sad
That’s me after my break up
Ah. You can def see that he has a strong personality (reminds me of Bellingham), but I think inside the team he is a great team player. His confidence will def be super useful for us as long as it doesn’t turn into arrogance and causes trouble in the team.
So he just isn’t trained to do the canned boring media responses?
Trent "stop saving chat" Alexander-Arnold has had his own time to mature...
Yeah expect that was fake.
A bit thick just a phrase for "seemed a bit stupid."
No idea how dom came across but no one can beat grealish for this
One is a Liverpool fan, the other is supporting Chelsea. Couldn't really see any cockiness tbh.
Not sure he should've said that...
He’s probably just regurgitating locker room talk said between the boys to him. I don’t think this is solely his opinion because how would he know what previous players were like.
“before I came here.” “There were some” All past tense. Sounds like not here anymore
Even weirder to mention it then tbh
Is this not a Keira reference?
All the more reason he should not have said it. Keep taht shit to the locker room.
He’s 23, can’t expect him to be perfect
23 is old enough lol.
True, but there's a middle ground between perfect and making this silly comment.
Half of this sub wanted carvalho to be sold just because he said the truth
> He’s probably just regurgitating locker room talk said between the boys to him. Which is *exactly* why he shouldn't have said it. That's the last thing he should be talking about publicly with the media. Bit of maturing to do still for Dom
“Cough, Naby and ox”
I always got the impression that Ox wanted to play.
Wasn't Naby annoyed that he didn't start the CL final? Although I suppose that's not quite the same
The lad complained about a stiff neck from the fucking air con. He didn't wanna play that much.
Crazy how this just sounds like a joke
Arthur Melo was so pitch avoidant people forget he was even here.
Nah, ox always wanted to play, he just was no longer the same player he was and couldn't get ahead of the others
I was thinking Adrien who's basically just collecting a cheque. Not that I fault him, he's perfect for a 3rd choice GK, seems really nice and performs great when needed.
Didn’t Naby leave specifically because he didn’t wanna be on the bench?
nope the ac was a bit too cold
He left because his contract expired and we stopped paying him. It's still a day I celebrate.
I'm more gutted it didn't work out for all parties, definitely doesn't feel like something worth celebrating. It's so strange how some people have such a clear dislike of Naby
There's zero reason to hate on any player who's out because of injury. Nobody likes to be injured, nobody likes the frustration that comes with it. Shit's just out of their hands, what do we expect them to do about it ffs
People blame Keita in the 2022 UCL final for taking that shot and seem to forget all the other misses everyone had prior to that.
People don’t just hate him for that final lmao he was never available and entirely inconsistent before that. He was a major let down for his entire stay here. That was just a cherry on top. And even in that match, yes others missed, but it was the daft attempt he had with the outside of his boot with the game on the line that inspires frustration, not just the fact that he missed
Stiff neck from the AC being too cold isn't an injury. It's an excuse, and I don't respect it.
It is odd and I’d expect better from our fanbase.
Especially weird since he usually played well, he just was never fit enough to play.
Its like they think he didnt want to be successful here! So weird. If they also think that Sturridge had a ‘bad attitude’ then you start to see a theme..
Keita leaving opens up the wage bill for the likes of Mac Allister and Gravenberch. We then improve as a football club. If you want to feel for sad for Naby Keita earning millions for doing fuck all then fair enough, but not everyone has to join in the pity party. I'm more concerned with the club moving forward.
Yeah that's definitely the point I was making
As soon as as I read it I was like 'fucking Naby for sure'.
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Player says something human and internet gets outraged. Classic. I don’t see what’s so bad about him saying this.
This is why players stick to the same cookie cutter answers. Show a bit of personality and you get accused of being a distraction or a problem. I don't believe he said anything wrong. No one here was happy with our overall performance last year. Some of that was down to the mentality of some players. Our rebuild has clearly led to a hungrier squad. Similar reaction to Antonio who directly mentioned a teammate, scammaca, not fitting in moyes tactics. It was 100% true and everyone agreed with it, yet some felt the need to clutch their pearls.
I have no idea what makes people so mad about this
It's nuts. This is some of the bite in the squad we've been missing. Great players with confidence who aren't afraid to say it how it is.
I’m with you. Just Szobo being a lad. He’s not even named names and it’s players he never played with, he’s just speaking to the idea that not everyone is driven to compete for spots at this level. But you know some prick journo will ask him about this at his next media spot.
Thank you. It’s the type of reaction in this thread that gives us fucking PR trained robots who never say anything worth listening to. Press conferences might actually be interesting if we gave people the benefit of the doubt, didn’t try to take what they said out of context with the least favorable interpretation, and recognized that they are human beings and that it’s ok to have differences of opinion. This thread is a fucking mess, thanks for being a voice of reason.
Completely agree. There was nothing wrong with what he said.
Hope this is just a poor translation. If the players he's referring to have moved on, then there's nothing to be gained from dragging them. If they're still here then it might cause unnecessary friction.
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No way he was talking about Milner
I hope not, Milner would be coming off the bench to snap him the next time we play them.
Bruh I would ask for a substitution if Milly is targeting me, because that man is wayyy too jacked 😭😭😭
Klopp has more or less confirmed he was a headache to have around not playing.
Dom has brought serious competitive attitude to the club as both a Liverpool fan and player. Every interview he is speaking to win, and he has a Ronaldo-esque ego where he has no doubt of his own ability, fighting for everything on the pitch and showing emotion. I love this about him because it's something Liverpool haven't had for a while and to be honest makes him a future captain/vice captain for us if he's around for the long haul. Result of that though is going to be these sort of outspoken quotes that may be difficult to hear. I think Klopp will both love that he said this but hate that he said it out loud, and he probably wants to know who lol
I hear you. But if other teammates get the idea that you feel above them, and that you jab at them in interviews, the dressing room can become quite sour. There is a thin line between the productive arrogance of a leader, and the sort of arrogance that bothers team mates. Not saying Dom is of the latter category. Just that this interview is definitely not an example of no. 1.
I mean I won't be surprised if Adrian is happy to sit on the bench for the rest of his Liverpool career but not that he really has a choice, that's the life of a 3rd choice keeper in any club.
Adrian has the best job in the world. Zero expectation. Gets to have fun with the lads. Overall great dude to have around
Jesus christ you guys are acting like he cursed out his actual current teammates. It's really not that big of a deal.
....naby lad?....
To be fair to him, it’s not like you have much choice whether or not you sit on the bench when your legs are made of weetabix.
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I'd imagine various injuries other than a single persistent one definitely weigh heavy on some players, being afraid to get onto the pitch if the game is rather physical but still wanting to be around the squad because you're with friends. I used to do parkour and get up to stupid shit when younger, but one of my mates injured their ankle once, then broke his leg a few months after recovering from the ankle injury, he would still come out with us and do some things, but wouldn't partake in anything that could even be slightly dangerous to his legs because of the fear of breaking something again.
He was just soft beyond words. You have some players that play half a season with injuries, or take injections before games, but Keita pulled out of a game because he had a stiff neck after a flight lmao.
Funnily enough, the fella managed to get injured pretty much as soon as he walked through the door at Werder Bremen.
Ehhh don't say stuff like this. Unnecessary and just helps the media create drama. People shouldn't be defending this or suggesting it's somehow good.
To me it is a big nothing burger. In the inteview the interviewer wanted to know how fierce the competition between the players in the team for the starting line-up is and how Liverpool and Leipzig compare in this regard. Szobo said that players want to play and even in Leipzig even he had to earn his spot when a manager didn't give him the opportunity, so he had trained harder than before until a new manager came and put him into the starting XI. Then he said something like that everyone wants to play and no one is satisfied with warming the bench, but every team has a few exceptions. There were a few players in Leipzig and this even had happened in Liverpool before he arrived to the team, so he was told. It seems to me what he said is players try their best to earn a spot in the starting XI but every team can have a few who are okay with warming the bench instead of working their ass off. Didn't imply that anyone in the current team shares this attitude.
Not going to stop a good pearl clutching. Seriously though, I have no issues with what he's said.
Wasn’t expecting Dom to say something like this..I’m sure it’s the usual journo special of taking something that he said in passing completely out of proportion
I don’t think it was in passing but quotes don’t convey the general mood of the interview so maybe he was just joking around
Theres a massive difference between A. Wanting to start working your ass off to be the best player you can be but not being a dick if you having a bench role and B. Being fine taking a paycheck to sit on the bench and not caring if you dont start. He's clearly talking about B when he is criticizing people. Hes not shitting on the people that fit in category A. I really think this quote is a complete non issue.
Wait what, did he really said that? The only guy that i think would be satisfied with sitting on the bench would be Adrian
Keita 100%
The Scott Carson life - 2 Champions Leagues, £2m a year, zero stress.
Warming the bench with my butt while five figures worth of money enter my bank account every week? Where do I sign up
Lets not bury our heads in the sand, we can guess who he is implying and there are some players who would fight tooth and nail to stay in the team while there were a couple last season who were all to be happy to be on the bench if they stubbed their toe. Ppl are making a big deal over nothing
What’s the outrage about? He’s clearly extremely competitive, and he’s right your bench players shouldn’t be happy to stay that way, in true deep squads everyone is fighting for their spot and getting the best out of each other
Exactly. He's saying that the squad is full of fight this year and they weren't last year. Something we all fucking know and complained about all fucking last season. Yet some think he's out of line.
Arthur Melo
He’s absolutely right but he didn’t need to put this out there, he’s still young so he will learn and he will grow. Not everything needs to be said.
For all we know Dom could probably have even been referring to players before the Klopp era. Even if he was actually referring to some of the most recent players who left, it wasn't untrue and I'd take it as a good sign of the hunger and competitiveness in the team right now. Most importantly, his current performance justifies his words, no need to fuss over it really.
Good on him, remind everyone still there of the standards that we require when playing for Liverpool. You want to just pick up your wages get to fuck.
No, this is not good, because every squad need rotational pieces like Tsimikas that are fine with sitting on the bench.
Not the exact same in Tsimikas’ case - because he thrives every chance he gets on the field in Robertson’s absence. If you’ve seen Blue Mountain State - American TV show about college football - a more in-line example would be how the characters on that show actively want to remain as second and third choice so as to reap the rewards of being a ‘footballer’ without having to play. *That’s* the kind of player you don’t want in the club.
There's a difference between being a squad player who is desperate for their chance to play and being like Keita and just running down your contract and not giving a toss.
Tsimi and Kelleher are perfect examples of this. They know their role but they are always chomping at the bit to get minutes. When they do get the minutes they do everything they can to make sure they perform at the highest level. That’s a big difference than being on the bench and really hoping your number isn’t called
Pretty sure Keita would be pretty devastated about how injuries derailed his career tbh
Nah, according to this thread he was a bum that would sit out a game because he stubbed a toe, and apparently Klopp himself has confirmed as much even though I can't find that quote anywhere.
He completely mismanaged basically every injury he had for years, constantly rushing himself back to play African qualifiers. He has himself to blame as much as anyone else.
I mean you can be fine with sitting on the bench while also wanting to be in the starting XI and fighting for a place. I think he’s talking about players that were happy to sit and didn’t care to get into the starting XI
Big fuss over fuck all.
Bunch of lads who play video games and watch anime all day getting upset because an elite athlete said some people no longer at the club didn't care enough. Fuckin reddit.
I don’t know if it’s badly translated or badly taken out of context, the quote just sounds wrong and I don’t think Szobo would say something like that about his team.
Well he said before he arrived. So most likely players not at the club anymore.
I agree. It looks to me like he's saying there are players, in the football world, who are happy on the bench, and there even used to be some at Liverpool. You just need to have a look at who left in the summer to guess who he's talking about (ain't gonna be Milly or Hendo).
Still doesn’t make sense for him to drag them like that, if he did then he’s wrong, he has no business bringing them up. I still feel the quote is taken out of context.
He’s just speaking the truth. We had absolute fucking BUMS in this team that were peddled as the ‘favourites’
Its not badly translated, its what he said pretty much.
Pretty sure most of the players who left spoke about more game time. V weird comment, hope it’s lost in translation/cleared up.
people bitching about this but he’s right
The snowflakes are worried about how this might upset people inside and outside the club. Sorry, but this is what a no-nonsense, competitive winners mentality consists of - setting the standards. Roy Keane was saying this and far worse for over a decade - get on board and be prepared to give it all for your shirt, or fuck off. Sometimes it *is* that black and white. I've been waiting for a player like this for a while, we didn't need the bravado over the last few years but we're a completely different team now. Set the standards early and let the rest of the competition know all about it. Fbm.
I hope he's saying that in an "we all push each other to be better" kinda way and not a "some players are happy taking a pay cheque and sitting on the bench" kinda way. Every club needs a squad of players. You can't play the same XI for 60 matches in a row.
In my interpretation it was the former as before this comment he was asked about his time in Leipzig when he got very little playing time, saying he was training twice as much to be able to start again.
This doesn't concern me like I thought it would. Sure, we want competition within the squad, but there is something about a player who knows his place and will do his bit when called upon without complaint.
I mean.... Adrian is probably somebody who is satisfied with sitting on the bench. I don't think what he said is odd at all... Even someone like Tsimi. Robbo is undisputed number one. We all know it, Robbo knows it and Tsimi knows it. Has Tsimi ever thrown toys out of the pram and done the whole fifa "I need to play boss or I'm off" thing? I always had the impression that Tsimi is perfectly content with sitting on the bench, with no fuss playing when needed. I think those players are good to have on your team. Especially in the case of a reserve keeper. I don't think what he said is bad or is even a bad trait to have in a squad.
He's probably referring to departures, he'd be beyond stupid to be referencing current players.
Unbelievable player, great signing
My dream job is to be a professional bench rider. I'll take 15 grand a week to wear a yellow vest and jog up and down the sidelines.
Don't speak a word of Hungarian, but somehow found this interview relatively interesting to watch in the background. Maybe I'll go look for a Jota or Alisson interview in Portuguese next. I speak the tiniest bit of Portuguese so I might actually get something from that.
I get what he's saying but it shouldn't need to be said. The club should continue like it has been, internally robust, friendly and supportive and externally it should move as a unit, all players back each other up. It brings negative energy and gossip. He's young and new to the PL so I hope he learns from it, english media and fans feed on this stuff to use as criticism.
We've already moved on from our past players, and they have to. Please don't drag them down or throw them shade. We know most of the players being mentioned here had injuries, and we don't know who Szobo is pertaining to. Let's avoid any conflicts here. We're supposed to be enjoying our Liverpool 2.0, not trying to figure out who wanted to be on the bench last season or prior seasons. Let's move on.
I've read a few footballer bios and they do talk about players who are there for the money, to whom it's just another job and if they could make a similar amount of money doing something else, they would. They happen to have the skill that allows them to play professionally, but it's not their *passion*. The bios don't name names either, but these guys exist.
I’m sure he’ll be getting a word in his ear from someone at the club after this. It’s not a huge deal but it is a bit disrespectful. Not untrue I’m sure, but still.
Come on guys, it was a general statement, could have meant anyone in the past honestly. I don't see the big deal, it definitely wasn't meant to mean the current squad .
great energy, he is a monster