I was only supposed to meet Jurgen Klopp – then I ended up signing for Liverpool

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"He had read an article about me in a German newspaper and he invited me to Melwood the week after."It should only have been a meeting, but he was convinced I had the [ability] to coach Premier League players... the week after I signed a contract."Gronnemark went on to spend five years with the Reds, contributing to one of the most successful eras in the club's history. As it happens, Gronnemark once held the Guinness World Record for the longest throw-in, but his main focus lies elsewhere - on the value of quick, intelligent short throw-ins that keep the game moving and opponents off balance."In some clubs I coached the long throw-ins and I'm very successful with those clubs like FC Midtjylland and Brentford," he said.

"But in most of my clubs like Liverpool, Ajax, Dortmund and many others, it's what I like to call the fast and clever throw-ins."So a lot of people think throw-in coaching [is] long throw-ins [and they think], 'We don't want to do that, so forget about it.' No. It was during a friendly football match between the Danish and German bobsleigh teams that he revealed his hidden talent: a throw-in of such extraordinary distance that it left both his team-mates and opponents stunned."I thought then: 'If I can make a good throw-in myself, can I teach other players to do it?' he told Liverpool's club website in 2021.Content cannot be displayed without consentAt first, Gronnemark's coaching centred solely on long throws.

But after noticing how often teams squandered short throw-ins - even at the highest level - he developed a new philosophy, one that ultimately propelled him to the top of the game."I started watching and analysing games and was horrified because I found out that most teams kept possession on only 50 per cent of the occasions when they had a throw-in under pressure. I also said to the team, 'I am not going to make you into a long-throw team, we are not going to take a lot of long throw-ins towards the opposition goal', because that could have been a fear for some of the players."Afterwards, Jurgen said to the team: 'One of our biggest weaknesses was throw-ins and I am 100 per cent sure that Thomas can help us.' These really fantastic players, all really motivated and ambitious - they heard what Jurgen was saying and thought: 'We have a weakness and here is someone who can help us.'"I can only be happy with the level of open-mindedness and motivation I have found with the players and staff here at Liverpool."