Sometimes there is a great disparity between how a player plays for the club team and then how they play for their national team. A great case in example, is Cody Gakpo.
The Liverpool forward has been a really valuable part of the Reds’ squad this season. He’s already got 18 goal contributions for Liverpool in all competitions and has rarely missed a game due to injury. Based on those factors, it’s difficult to criticise him – Gakpo is delivering when it matters.
However, recently he has come under a little bit of criticism. Over the course of Liverpool’s last few games there is no denying, that especially, when Gakpo was introduced from the bench he has made little impact. Yet conversely, for his national team, Gakpo showed a completely different side to his game. Someone who didn’t look like he was out of form at all.
What Cody Gakpo’s form can teach Jurgen Klopp
For the Netherlands, Gakpo has been one of the country’s most important players over the last few months, or even years. Ever since the World Cup, where he was the country’s top-scorer at the tournament in Qatar.
Meanwhile, in his last five games for the Netherlands, Gakpo also has five goal contributions (three goals and two assists). Including two brilliant assists against Scotland in the Netherlands’ most recent international fixture.
So why has Gakpo been able to become such a linchpin of the national team? The answer lies in how he is used. For Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp often deploys Gakpo with his back to goal playing as the focal point of the attack. However, for the Netherlands, Gakpo is used often as a wide left-winger.
Sometimes he is used centrally but often playing in behind a striker, which means he is more of a number ten rather than the nine that he is expected to play at Liverpool. This may offer a clue as to how to best utilise him in a Liverpool shirt as well.
Gakpo is much more effective when he can drop deeper and pick the ball up to advance into dangerous areas. He is less effective when playing with his back to goal. If Klopp wants to fully maximise Gakpo’s ability, then this is something that must be taken into consideration. Gakpo simply doesn’t have the strength at the moment to be a number nine. But he does have the speed and the technical ability to run at opponents and beat them with ease.