Arne Slot: the coach who is a fan of Guardiola takes on his biggest challenge at Liverpool, where he will coach Luis Díaz

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There are already those who call him in England the Dutch Guardiola, and there must be a reason, not only because he has a shaved head, but because he is his confessed admirer, one of his fans, as he himself has said, and those who know him say that he has a lot of his style. He is a coach who likes to attack, who likes good play, obsessive with ball control, with high pressure. Even the Dutch journalist Marcel van der Kraan, from Sky, assured that Slot plays “crazy and sexy” football. Anyway, a lot of praise for a 45-year-old coach who has not had adventures as a coach outside his country. But they call Guardiola Dutch and he must have something. At least he is a good sign to get to Liverpool.

Until very recently he was an unknown coach on the big European stage, although in his country he was already generating a small revolution that drew attention for everything he had been doing with Feyenoord, which is one of the big teams in the Netherlands. Slot was a footballer, a midfielder who only played for teams in his country: he won a second division title with PEC Zwolle. His stellar moment would come as a coach, although his resume is still short. He coached Az Alkmaar, then Feyenoord, which he arrived in 2020. There he began to shine: not only did he receive the Rinus Michels award for Eredivisie coach of the year, but in his second season he won the league and then the Dutch Cup. And those are his treasures so far.

However, its triumphant entry into the international framework would be by achieving the subtitle in the Conference League (2021-2022), the third most important club tournament at the European level. There his name came out of anonymity, if he had any anonymity left. English teams such as Tottenham, Chelsea and Leeds were interested in him, and, of course, Liverpool’s scouts, pressured by Klopp’s imminent departure, became aware of his existence, began to follow him, accelerated their contacts and went to speak in his ear, to seduce him.

What is it about Slot that burst onto the European coaching market overnight and was chosen as Klopp’s replacement? Mikos Gouka is a Dutch journalist for AD Sportwereld. He speaks with EL TIEMPO and says: “Slot is a promising and relatively young coach who has quickly reached the top. Slot is someone who has contributed offensive football everywhere he has worked. First in the small Cambuur, then in the bigger AZ and then in Feyenoord. There he caused an authentic revolution in three seasons playing the best football in Holland with limited economic resources.” Slot was imprinting his ideas on the Feyenoord players, where
he already coached a Colombian, Luis Sinisterra, and now, if he doesn’t leave, he will coach Luis Díaz. In Europe they call him the promising coach, the coach of the future, the revelation.

“With him, Feyenoord players became international players and were worth much more, the club won the cup and the national title and reached a European final against Roma. But especially the way Feyenoord played against Celtic, Atletico Madrid and Lazio in Europe this season has shown that Slot has really taken Feyenoord to a higher level. Although the club was eliminated from the Champions League, there was praise all around. Feyenoord’s style is offensive with many high ball conquests. Ajax was defeated 0-4 and 6-0 this season, only PSV was much stronger,” adds Gouka.

When the press revealed Liverpool’s interest, his name gained real resonance. It was a matter of time before what began to be an open secret was confirmed. And Slot, who already wanted another breath and to direct in the Premier League It was one of his obsessions, he didn’t think about it much…

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Jurgen Klopp I was excited and moved. He was saying farewell to the Liverpool fans, and since he is interested in the future of the club, and the future is demarcated by his successor, he became animated, grabbed the microphone that amplified his voice throughout Anfield and released a tune that at first generated brashness, a brief silence, and then it spread with a roar. Klopp sang: “Arne Slot, na nana nananá –to the rhythm of the song Live is life, by Opus–, and the entire stadium followed the tune: ‘Arne Slot, na nana nananá.’” It was like Master Klopp’s baptism of Liverpool’s new coach, like a welcome or a vote of confidence.

Recently, Klopp himself had already spoken in favor of Slot: “I like the way his team plays football. All I hear about him is that he’s a good guy. Some people I know know about it, but I don’t yet. But I really like being told that he is a good guy and a good coach. I’m looking forward to finding out if he is the solution or the chosen man,” Klopp said.

So Slot already had the greatest support. On Monday, Liverpool, with the Premier League over and Klopp out of the offices, announced that Slot was the one chosen. Unofficially there is talk of a disbursement of 12 million euros, which makes him the highest-priced coach in the Netherlands of all time, according to an article by ESPN Netherlands.

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Slot arrives as a promising technician. And it is normal that he still generates skepticism in Liverpool, where they come from living a glorious era with Klopp, where perhaps they were waiting for a more prominent coach. But Liverpool’s scouts hope they are right. They believe in this coach, who has seduced European football in recent seasons.

Former Dutch footballer Robin van Persie, who was Slot’s assistant at Feyenoord, knows him well, and said: “I think (Slot) is very good, very good. The way he wants to play is in line with Klopp’s playing style and what they are used to there. I hope they do very well,” the former soccer player told ESPN.

Slot had a similar farewell to Klopp. He walked around the Feyenoord field, with a red and white scarf around his neck, receiving applause, with the nostalgia of those saying goodbye. And so he left.

In Liverpool, people don’t know what to believe after Klopp, if there could be something better, something similar. The bar is very high. The challenge is challenging. If Slot is still living a dream, it’s time to wake up and realize that he was the one: Me? To Liverpool? Really? So let’s go…