Liverpool appoint set-piece coach and Brazilian joins Arne Slot’s staff

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Liverpool have installed Aaron Briggs in the full-time role of first-team set-piece coach, with another new arrival from Brazil taking his previous job.Briggs joined the club last summer as part of their major overhaul, but while he was appointed in the position of first-team individual development coach, his responsibilities soon changed.The 38-year-old took the lead on set-pieces as well as being a vocal presence in training and on the touchline at matchdays.Liverpool had advertised for a specialist set-piece coach, with the expectation being that Arne Slot‘s former colleague Etienne Reijnen would eventually join from Feyenoord, but now Briggs will formally take the role.The Athletic‘s James Pearce reports that Atletico Mineiro assistant coach Luiz Fernando Iubel will arrive on September 1 to become individual development lead coach.That will allow Briggs to focus solely on set-pieces, which could be a major boost to Liverpool given it is such an important area.Iubel, a 36-year-old Brazilian who can speak English, Portuguese, Spanish and German, will be tasked with overseeing the development of players between the academy and first team.His role will be similar to that of Vitor Matos, who served as the bridge between youth and senior football during five years at Liverpool alongside Jurgen Klopp.Matos left the club with the majority of Klopp’s backroom staff last summer, and after a brief stint assisting Pepijn Lijnders at Salzburg, he is now head coach of Portuguese second-tier side CS Maritimo.Part of Iubel’s duties will also work closely with the players Liverpool send on loan, which this season will include James McConnell, Vitezslav Jaros, Lewis Koumas and Luca Stephenson.Pearce explains that the process of identifying him as the ideal candidate was a rigorous one involving Slot, Fenway Sports Group’s Julian Ward and Pedro Marques, and academy director Alex Inglethorpe.His arrival will not be the first within Slot’s backroom this summer, with Giovanni van Bronckhorst among those to join after a number of departures.Van Bronckhorst has replaced John Heitinga as assistant coach, while Xavi Valero and Colin Stewart have filled the roles of goalkeeping coaches Fabian Otte and Claudio Taffarel respectively.