Why Sepp van den Berg sees pre-season as a 'perfect' opportunity

The defender played just over an hour of the Reds’ 1-0 friendly victory over Real Betis in Pittsburgh on Friday night and has been involved since day one of the first pre-season under new head coach Arne Slot.

Van den Berg enjoyed a fruitful loan spell with Bundesliga side Mainz last season and has also spent temporary periods with Schalke and Preston North End since he joined Liverpool in 2019.

And he has outlined his determination to stake his claim for a role in a new era led by fellow Dutchman Slot.

“I played 45 minutes in the first game [a behind-closed-doors match against Preston], 60 in this one and I hope to make more minutes in the next two games,” Van den Berg told Sky Sports following the win over Betis.

“For me, it’s perfect. I can show myself in training [and] in the games, get game time, get rhythm, so it’s been very good.

“At a club like this, at this level, you have to be patient. I’ve been here now already for five years, time flies! Of course I’ve been away quite a lot but for me they were perfect steps: gain experience, a lot of games, I’ve played a lot in the last three years.

“Especially as a centre-back, I came here when I was very, very young, so for me to go out a few times was perfect and now to be here feeling ready, feeling good, I think it’s very good.”

When asked about his future, Van den Berg replied: “I’m still a Liverpool player. I enjoy it here, really. Like I said it’s been a very nice pre-season, a new coach, a new era starts, fresh training, a new style of play, so I really like it.

“Like I said, for me it’s just about game time and at the moment I am getting it here so I’m happy. It’s still early, you never know what can happen, but for me the most important thing is playing.

“If I can do it here there’s no better place, it’s one of the biggest clubs – if not the biggest – in the world so if it is here it is my dream. But for me the most important thing is to play so we will see what happens.”

This article has been automatically translated and, while all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, some errors in translation are possible. Please refer to the original English-language version of the article for the official version.