Dominik Szoboszlai‘s profession to this point has taken him from Hungary to Austria, Germany and England. Right here David Lynch speaks to the Liverpool FC No.8’s former coaches in an unique take a look at the spectacular story – to this point!.
EXCLUSIVE FOR THIS IS ANFIELD
Maybe as a result of he was so enamoured by it, it’s Jesse Marsch who greatest sums up the sense given by so a lot of Szoboszlai’s former coaches that he has all the time been in possession of a confidence bordering on vanity.
The American coach has fond reminiscences of his first assembly with 18-year-old ‘Szobo’ following his appointment as Crimson Bull Salzburg boss in 2019, and recollects being blown away by a participant whose outstanding expertise was matched solely by his personal conviction that he would fulfil it.
This high quality has clearly stood Szoboszlai in good stead throughout a meteoric rise that continued this summer season with a £60 million transfer to Anfield, the place he has rapidly emerged because the beating coronary heart of what Jurgen Klopp is terming ‘Liverpool 2.0’.
However that end result was under no circumstances assured again when he was defying cultural norms throughout an important profession cease within the Austrian Bundesliga.
Marsch tells This Is Anfield: “I’d spoken to Szobo a bit of bit earlier than however the first day I confirmed up, you possibly can see he had such confidence about him. It’s borderline vanity, nevertheless it’s actual.
“He simply believes in himself and he’s all the time believed that he was going to be an enormous participant. I’m drawn to these sort of personalities, I like guys that include a little bit of vanity to them.
“Germany and Austria are a bit of completely different, however in German there’s a phrase, ‘demütig’, and it means humble. And in the event you say to any person something like, ‘He ought to keep humble’, it’s an insult as a result of in German they don’t like vanity.
“However I’m completely different, I’m American! So I used to be drawn to him instantly.
“He was nonetheless younger, a bit immature, and nonetheless wanted some steerage by way of easy methods to use his confidence to assist profit him as a participant.
“However I watched him play the 12 months earlier than, I actually appreciated him and I believed he had an enormous future with how I used to be going to maneuver the workforce ahead.”
Strict, centered and born for this
It’s Szoboszlai’s father, Zsolt, a former skilled footballer who performed in his native Hungary and in Austria’s decrease divisions, who’s most continuously credited with forging that cast-iron self-belief by these with information of the household.
Székesfehérvár locals additionally bear in mind Dominik rising up in a strict atmosphere that owed a lot to his father’s dedication that his personal profession within the sport could be surpassed by his son.
It’s already well-known that Szoboszlai was made to put on smaller boots than he required in an effort to enhance his dexterity, however much less in order that he was hardly ever given permission to socialize with mates as a toddler whose fundamental focus needed to be coaching.
Zsolt’s bloody mindedness even stretched to opting out of Hungary’s conventional youth growth pathway – a choice many felt was subsequently justified by the dearth of apparent return on dictatorial prime minister Viktor Orban’s £2 billion funding in soccer since 2010.
He and his son had been coach and participant within the youth ranks of native membership Fehérvár FC (then often called Videoton attributable to a sponsorship settlement with an area electronics producer) till Zsolt was concerned in a disagreement that prompted a parting of the methods in 2007.
Moderately than search out one other academy, Szoboszlai Snr as an alternative elected to kind his personal, named Fonix Gold, with strict choice standards and a give attention to teaching on smaller teams to extend one-to-one contact.
Szoboszlai thrived on this atmosphere, although one fairly outstanding story from this time considerations a consensus forming domestically that he would by no means be fast sufficient to make it on the elite stage.
After all, that fantasy didn’t survive lengthy, with the younger midfielder’s exploits in his father’s academy quickly incomes him recognition at worldwide stage.
It was at that time a 15-year-old Szoboszlai got here onto the radar of Michael Boris, a German coach then in command of Hungary’s U19s and about to step up and lead the U21s.
Boris recollects: “Bernd Storck was the sporting director of the Hungarian federation and he stated, ‘You’ve got to take a look at this younger man’.
“Two weeks earlier than he had performed with the U17s and I took him with the U19s to Armenia.
“The second sport, he got here in for some minutes and, from this time, it was clear that if I used to be going to be the U21s coach then I needed to take him as quickly as potential.
“[He had] to play with older guys as a result of, in comparison with the others within the U17s, you possibly can see that he was completely different.
“Initially, the set-pieces, the free-kicks, the technical footing was wonderful, however I feel at this second he is likely one of the guys who’s operating probably the most within the Premier League and you possibly can see this within the youth additionally.
“Usually, a typical No. 10 will not be working defensively and prefers to play ahead, however he did all the pieces despite the fact that he performed in an offensive place.”
A ‘loopy’ and ‘intelligent’ genius
In addition to this technical prowess, Szoboszlai was already displaying his trademark confidence in making an attempt to take duty from his extra senior teammates.
Boris says: “We had gamers like Daniel Gazdag, who now performs for the senior nationwide workforce and may be very profitable, so we had quite a lot of good midfield gamers.
“However Dominik, each free-kick he went to the ball and needed to shoot!
“I needed to clarify that there was an order and that the older participant has to attempt it after which, if it’s not good, then he can.
“However at that age he was a bit of bit naughty – nevertheless it was optimistic. And you possibly can see the standard in his capturing free-kicks.
“There’s a contact of negativity within the phrase vanity, however he had confidence, self-confidence in himself and information of easy methods to survive in opposition to older gamers.”
A breakout on the worldwide stage meant it was not lengthy till consideration from overseas adopted, with Crimson Bull heading up the queue due to their famously intensive scouting community.
However, for causes that even these near the deal aren’t fairly in a position to make clear at this level, Szoboszlai was required to spend time within the academy of a top-flight facet earlier than a transfer could possibly be signed off.
For that purpose, he made the change to close by MTK Budapest for 12 months, and it’s there, after years of listening to about this native wonderkid via mates, that Zsolt Szekely first bought to see him up shut.
Inevitably, he was surprised by what he noticed, and recollects: “He was very, very intelligent – a genius!
“He knew who was participant and who wasn’t, and he by no means handed the ball to somebody who wasn’t adequate for him.
“Generally, if he noticed there was participant who may rating, he wouldn’t cross the ball in entrance of them however a bit of bit behind him so he would give again the ball once more after which he might rating.”
Szekely tells one story particularly that paints an image of simply how dominant Szoboszlai had grow to be amongst his friends.
He says: “He turned a champion with the U17s, however the U16s had one final sport and needed to win it to grow to be champions too.
“So got here again to us to assist us… and scored 4 targets and gave three assists as we gained 8-0. He’s a loopy man.”
The artwork of studying the lesson
After all, given his tender years, Szoboszlai nonetheless had a lot to be taught however, as has so typically been the case in his brief profession, his cocksure nature typically served to convey him via.
Szekely provides: “I had a sense generally that he didn’t work arduous sufficient.
“There was a sport the place I used to be dissatisfied with him and I spoke along with his father, who was additionally offended about it not being sufficient.
“I spoke with Szoby and informed him that if he didn’t work more durable I might put him on the bench, even in his personal age group.
“That day he educated effectively and the subsequent day he performed fantastically, and that night time he despatched me a textual content: ‘Did you imply this, Zsolt?’
“He was very robust mentally, all the time. He knew what he needed to do and he did it. To be sincere, his father was all the time behind him, all the time informed him what he needed to do. So I feel one of many largest elements of his success is his father.”
Marsch, too, remembers often struggling to get Szoboszlai to take classes on board from anybody apart from his father as soon as he had reached Salzburg.
He says: “At first, once I was crucial of him he didn’t wish to hear me.
“I had quite a lot of particular person video periods with him, nearly each coaching session, nearly each sport.
“We might sit down and I might speak to him as a result of with younger, proficient gamers like that it’s all about serving to them obtain their potential and creating an accelerated studying curve.
“Then, what I name ‘the clicking’, as soon as they begin to perceive precisely what’s vital, it simply hits them suddenly after which it’s once they take off.
“At first, Szobo was like, ‘Yeah, that’s not the very best instance…’
“However he and I had good belief and relationship and I saved pushing him to do extra, to be extra, to play more durable, to not be happy.
“Finally, that basically clicked with him and have become one of many issues about him.”
Fulfilling his future
This realisation resulted in Szoboszlai exploding, along with his spells at Salzburg and Leipzig returning 4 Austrian Bundesliga titles, three Austrian cups and two DFB-Pokals, and laying the foundations for his dream transfer to Liverpool.
He’s now bidding for much more at Anfield, the place his choice to tackle the enduring No. 8 shirt has invited early comparisons with Steven Gerrard that, fairly extremely, look to have some legitimacy.
There may be actually a familiarity to his tireless operating, highly effective drives via midfield, and unstoppable long-distance photographs – although the Scouse accent maybe wants work.
However probably the most placing Gerrard trait evidenced by Szoboszlai to date is his capability to thrive below stress, which perhaps ought to come as no shock from a participant who has been a Hungarian icon since being appointed his nation’s captain on the age of simply 22.
As Boris explains: “I’m residing in Budapest and you may see now quite a lot of Liverpool shirts with the No. 8 and Szoboszlai on the again.
“All people is proud that this man went to Liverpool and is taking part in effectively. I don’t know if each sport from Liverpool was broadcasted earlier than, however now it’s clear that they broadcast each sport.”
Shouldering lofty expectations is probably made simpler when you find yourself merely fulfilling what you’ve got lengthy believed to be your future.
And, in keeping with Marsch, Szoboszlai shares that mindset with one other high-profile star to have additionally lately taken the Premier League by storm.
He says: “I bought a be aware from his agent the day he signed for Liverpool and he stated, ‘This was our imaginative and prescient from day one and also you helped Dominik get there’.
“Szobo all the time had this perception in himself and this imaginative and prescient that he could be taking part in for the most important golf equipment on the earth and be the very best participant in these groups.
“That is all a part of the manifestation of his confidence and his perception in himself. Some folks might take a look at it as vanity however Erling [Haaland] is similar.
“It’s attention-grabbing as a result of Erling and Szobo had a very good relationship in Salzburg and, I feel, discovered lots from one another.
“However I might see from each of them that they have been going to be among the many greatest gamers on the earth due to their enthusiasm, their expertise, their perception, their dedication, their work ethic, their need to enhance.
“The imaginative and prescient they’d for themselves was completely different to most gamers. I don’t assume that can ever be a difficulty for Szobo.”
There may be extra to return
So, having reached a vacation spot the place he can totally realise his immense potential below a masterful coach like Jurgen Klopp, what comes subsequent?
In keeping with those that know Szoboszlai greatest: world domination.
Boris says: “They requested me two or three years in the past when he moved from Austria to Germany, how good he may be.
“I stated, in comparison with Kai Havertz, he’s stronger and higher and it’s as a result of he has this working perspective.
“He is ready to play the ten with much less defensive work however you can even play with him on the No. 8 and he’s an actual employee.
“With that, he additionally has wonderful method and the shot from distance can be wonderful and the free-kicks. So he has this working mentality and I feel it’s good.”
Marsch, too, returns to his personal previous feedback on Szoboszlai, ones which he believes underline the potential for additional development.
He says: “In earlier interviews, I’ve stated the distinction between him and Erling by way of expertise will not be very massive.
“They’re completely different positions and so they have a special affect on the sport, however I knew that bodily he would have the ability to be dominant.
“And with Szobo’s method and soccer intelligence, I knew that he could be superb.
“He’s hit the bottom operating however, once I see him play, there are nonetheless quite a lot of little issues he can do higher and I feel he’ll develop and get higher as he continues to play.”
And if we all know one factor about Dominik Szoboszlai at this level, it’s that his makes an attempt to get even higher actually gained’t be blocked by a scarcity of self perception.
