John Achterberg (born 8 July 1971 in
Utrecht
Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...
) is a Dutch former
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who played as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
for
NAC Breda,
FC Eindhoven and
Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...
. He is a goalkeeping coach for
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
.
Club career
Achterberg first signed for Tranmere Rovers in 1998, after a successful trial as a replacement for the Everton bound
Steve Simonsen. He was immediately selected for the first team due to an injury to
Danny Coyne
Daniel Coyne (born 27 August 1973) is a Welsh football coach and former professional footballer.
As a player, he was a goalkeeper who played between 1992 and 2018. He came through the youth ranks at Tranmere Rovers during the 1992–93 season. ...
, making his debut against
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
on 25 September 1998. Achterberg then secured his place as Rovers' first choice goalkeeper after Coyne was transferred to
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...
in 1999. Achterberg became part of the giant-killing cup teams that defeated such opponents as
Everton,
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
and other big teams. However after refusing to sign a new contract he was dropped by
John Aldridge
John William Aldridge (born 18 September 1958) is a former football player and manager. He was a prolific, record-breaking striker best known for his time with English club Liverpool in the late 1980s. His tally of 330 Football League goals is ...
for the
2000 Football League Cup Final and replaced by
Joe Murphy. Achterberg's proficiency in goal was exemplified by the 20
clean sheets he kept during the 2003–04 season under the stewardship of
Brian Little. One of his more memorable performances was against
Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...
in an
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
quarter final at The New Den which was televised on
BBC 1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
. The game finished goalless, but was largely dominated by Millwall and John managed to save a
penalty kick
A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
from
Kevin Muscat
Kevin Vincent Muscat (born 7 August 1973) is an Australian former association football player and the current manager of Yokohama F. Marinos. As a player, he represented the Australia national team at international level winning 46 caps and sco ...
, despite having to play through injury.
Achterberg's 2005–06 season was less successful. After spending most of the season sidelined with injuries, he was replaced by Steve Wilson and
Dino Seremet, who was on loan from
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...
. Achterberg's chances of re-establishing himself as Tranmere's first choice goalkeeper in 2006–07 were hampered by the signing and good form of veteran journeyman
Gavin Ward. Later in the season, an injury to Ward gave Achterberg a chance, but a re-occurrence of his own injury problems saw him sit out the closing months of the season.
Achterberg's contract expired in May 2007 and he was
released by Tranmere on 25 May. This resulted in uproar from many Tranmere fans, who believed that Achterberg deserved a
testimonial match
A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...
, despite him falling just short of the ten years' service usually required to earn a testimonial at a club. On 31 May, however, he was given a two-year coaching and player contract with Tranmere. Achterberg made his 300th Rovers appearance in the opening day game of the 2008–09 season against
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
. Achterberg had his testimonial game in 2009 for Tranmere against an Everton XI.
Coaching career
After retiring from playing/coaching in 2009 with Tranmere Rovers, Achterberg joined
Liverpool FC
Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...
in June 2009 as a goalkeeping coach of the reserve and academy goalkeepers before being promoted to first-team goalkeeping coach in summer 2011.
At Liverpool, Achterberg was strongly criticized for
Simon Mignolet
Simon Luc Hildebert Mignolet (, ; born 6 March 1988) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Belgian Pro League club Club Brugge and the Belgium national team.
Mignolet started his career with Belgian Second Divisi ...
's and
Loris Karius
Loris Sven Karius (born 22 June 1993) is a German professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper.
Born in Biberach, Karius began his career with Stuttgart before moving to Manchester City in 2009. After two years in Manchester City's youth ...
' disappointing performances, as well as
Pepe Reina
José Manuel "Pepe" Reina Páez (; born 31 August 1982) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Villarreal.
The son of famed Barcelona and Atlético Madrid goalkeeper Miguel Reina, Pepe Reina began his ...
's declining form. Achterberg however, never lost the trust of Liverpool's managers
Kenny Dalglish,
Brendan Rodgers
Brendan Rodgers (born 26 January 1973) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Premier League club Leicester City.
Rodgers began his career as a defender at Ballymena United, where he stayed ...
and
Jurgen Klopp.
On 19 July 2018,
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
officially confirmed the signing of
Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year
The AIC Goalkeeper of the Year ( it, Migliore portiere AIC) was a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) since 1997 to 2010 as part of the Oscar del Calcio awards, given to the goalkeeper who had been considered to h ...
Alisson, for a fee of £66.8 million (€72.5 million), making him the
most expensive goalkeeper of all time, surpassing the transfers of
Ederson (most expensive in
pound sterling
Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and ...
) and
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded pl ...
(most expensive in Euros).
The record stood for only four weeks, when
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
signed
Kepa Arrizabalaga
Kepa Arrizabalaga Revuelta (born 3 October 1994) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Chelsea. He is sometimes referred to simply as Kepa.
A Basque native, Arrizabalaga began his senior club career with A ...
for a reported £71.6 million (€80 million) from
Athletic Bilbao.
In his first season under Achterberg, Alisson kept a total of 21 clean sheets in Premier League, and won the
Golden Glove. By doing so he broke the record of former Liverpool goalkeeper
Pepe Reina
José Manuel "Pepe" Reina Páez (; born 31 August 1982) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Villarreal.
The son of famed Barcelona and Atlético Madrid goalkeeper Miguel Reina, Pepe Reina began his ...
for the most clean sheets by any Premier League goalkeeper in their debut season. In the Champions League knockout stages, meanwhile, Alisson played a starring role as Liverpool advanced to their second consecutive final in the competition; in their second-leg semi-final at home to
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, he made a number of impressive saves as Liverpool overturned a 3–0 first leg deficit to advance past their opponents with a 4–0 home win. In
the final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
on 1 June 2019, Alisson kept a clean sheet for Liverpool as they defeated
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
2–0, making eight saves in the process, as Achterberg won his second trophy with the club.
Earlier in the season, Alisson praised Achterberg in a post on Liverpool's official website. He said, “John has proved to be not just a great goalkeeping coach but a great guy, a great person. Since I arrived I’ve noticed he’s loved by all here. He leaves me very calm and relaxed on a day-to-day basis and we learn from each other’s work. I’ve pointed out some areas that contribute to his work and likewise he has helped me with things I can improve in on the pitch."
On 16 May 2021, Alisson scored a dramatic late winner in a 2–1 victory against
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
, making him the sixth goalkeeper to do so in the Premier League. With Liverpool chasing a spot in the top four and the score tied at 1–1, Achterberg yelled at Alisson to come up for a Liverpool corner in the 95th minute. The corner, taken by
Trent Alexander-Arnold
Trent John Alexander-Arnold (born 7 October 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back for club Liverpool and the England national team. Known for his range of passing, crossing and assists, he is regarded as one o ...
, found Alisson who managed to score with a header, the first goal scored by a keeper in a competitive match in Liverpool's 129-year history.
References
External links
*
Liverpool FC Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Achterberg, John
1971 births
Living people
Footballers from Utrecht (city)
Men's association football goalkeepers
Dutch men's footballers
Dutch expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in England
Dutch expatriate sportspeople in England
NAC Breda players
FC Eindhoven players
Tranmere Rovers F.C. players
Eerste Divisie players
English Football League players
Liverpool F.C. non-playing staff
Association football goalkeeping coaches