Liverpool is making landmark moves but not in the ways you might expect. Coach Jurgen Klopp it seems has fully bought into the underutilized weapon that is the long throw, having has just signed on a specialist in the field to join his Liverpool staff in a part-time deal.
The new hire, Thomas Gronnemark, is an undisputed throw-in guru, having spent the last decade and a half mastering the art of arm ammunition. The Dane currently holds the world record for longest throw-in, an attempt that measured a mind-boggling 168 feet (for reference, that’s more than half the length of a soccer field). Watch him throw a measley 40 yarder. Probably just a warm up.
40 yard soccer crossbar challenge (WAIT for it) | Gronnemark Throw-in Coaching: https://t.co/p2VzNodZ4E via @YouTube
— Thomas Grønnemark (@ThomasThrowin) January 29, 2018
Further, Gronnemark has helped to instill his powerful throw-in expertise in others and has even made a living doing so, having previously coached Danish side FC Midtjylland in his technique. Gronnemark will now take his skills to one of the biggest stages of them all as he moves to Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp’s decision to bring Gronnemark on board shows just how important marginal gains may be as the competition heats up this season. Giant killers are on the loose in the EPL already and Liverpool will have perhaps an even tougher road in Europe as it looks to make deep run in the Champions League for the second year in a row.
Positional coaches have historically existed across many sports, in which case perhaps the advent of a specific paid role for a throw-in coach should not come as much of a surprise. Defenses beware: a thumping throw could just give Liverpool the edge it needs when things get tight this campaign.
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