John Heintinga mocks former club,at Liverpool training

John Heitinga, a former Everton player and current assistant coach at Liverpool, recently made a comment about his former club that is likely to irritate Everton fans. After the September international break, Liverpool resumed their preparations for their upcoming match against Nottingham Forest, and soon enough, jokes began to circulate around the AXA Training Centre.

In a video that has emerged on social media, Heitinga, who is part of Jürgen Klopp’s coaching staff, is heard making a pointed remark about Everton’s defensive performance. While pointing at a mannequin, Heitinga says, “It’s like Everton’s defense,” which elicited some dry laughter from the surrounding coaching staff. This moment was recorded just before Virgil van Dijk took a shot that hit the crossbar.

The remark quickly spread online, with Liverpool fans sharing their amusement on social media. One user on X (formerly Twitter) wrote: “Former Everton player John Heitinga casually mocking Everton in today’s Inside Training,” accompanied by a laughing emoji. Another user commented, “Johnny Heitinga’s got jokes. Keep up the good work in training!”

However, Everton supporters are unlikely to find Heitinga’s comment funny. The 40-year-old Dutchman, who played for Everton from 2009 to 2014 and made 140 appearances for the club, was a well-liked figure at Goodison Park. In December 2016, Heitinga publicly expressed his support for Everton during a Merseyside derby, stating, “Happy to support Everton tonight in the Merseyside derby. Game of the year! Once a Blue, always a Blue.” Despite this, some Everton fans have criticized Heitinga for what they perceive as a betrayal, given his current coaching role at Liverpool. Before joining Liverpool’s staff under Arne Slot, Heitinga was part of David Moyes’ coaching team at West Ham United. Critics have highlighted what they view as a contradiction in Heitinga’s earlier loyalty. One critic on X remarked, “Once a Blue, always a Blue, yeah?” while another wrote, “It is what it is… until it isn’t.”

In fairness to Heitinga, his critique of Everton’s defensive issues may be justified. The Toffees are currently struggling in the Premier League, sitting at the bottom of the table after three matches with a poor goal difference of -8. Their defensive problems were glaring in a recent match against Bournemouth. Everton led 2-0 late in the game thanks to goals from Michael Keane and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, only to concede three late goals and lose 3-2 at Goodison Park.

Following that defeat, Everton manager Sean Dyche acknowledged the team’s frustration, noting that they seemed to crumble under pressure after Bournemouth scored their first goal. Dyche commented on the lack of response from his players: “For whatever reason, they scored a goal and we were just looking at each other. Everyone was staring at each other and going: ‘Who is going to do that? Who’s going to win a challenge, who’s going to win that race, who’s going to win that header, and waiting for someone else to do it.’ And you can’t do that.”