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Arne Slot speaks for the first time since being hired by Liverpool
New Liverpool manager Arne Slot has hinted that his approach to football, which bears similarities to that of Jurgen Klopp, was a key factor in his appointment to succeed the German at Anfield.
After Klopp’s departure last month, following a highly successful nine-year tenure that included Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup, and Club World Cup victories, Slot was swiftly announced as Liverpool’s new head coach the following day.
“I think there are [similarities with Klopp] and I think that is also one of the reasons why I came in,” Slot explained in his first interview with club media.
“They were looking for, not the exact same type, but I think when something has been successful [with] a certain way of playing you would like to extend this or to go on with this. This is probably one of the reasons they came to me as well.
“I think it is the style of many modern coaches at the moment,” the Dutchman added. “We were all a bit inspired because of the rivalry between [Manchester] City and Liverpool. We were all inspired by [Pep] Guardiola and Klopp and I think at a big club, which I worked in in Feyenoord as well, it is probably the only style you can play – to have the ball a lot, to have a lot of energy.
“I think there are comparisons between the club I left behind and the club I am going to work for now. Both [sets of] fans love to see a team that wants to do everything to win and if things are tough they try to do everything to turn the game around and I think that has been done by Liverpool many times and I think that has been done by my former side Feyenoord many times as well.”
Slot said he isn’t bothered by his title being ‘head coach’ rather than ‘manager’ as it will allow him to “go in fully to the things I would like to do”. While he will be involved in recruitment alongside new sporting director Richard Hughes, there will be a “big backroom staff” all working on transfers.
The 45-year-old appears to feel most at home on the training pitches, which is where he expects to base himself once pre-season begins: “I think there is the place where you can influence the most.”
Yet there was also a side to Klopp’s leadership he wants to emulate, and that is successfully managing relationships with players and staff.
“I think this was one of the things, looking at it from the outside, where Jurgen was great at as well, apart from playing style,” Slot said. “That is a challenge because I’m 100 per cent sure that many people who are still at this club still love him. We have to find a way that people get used to me and used to the new staff that’s coming in, and get the same energy in this building.”