Is the “new Guardiola” the future coach of the Szoboszlais? – we present Arne Slot, who said yes to Liverpool’s request

As a coach, Arne Slot became much better known than he was as a footballer. After his retirement in 2013, he started coaching the youth team at his former club, FC Zwolle, and then worked as an assistant coach at SC Cambuur. He achieved his first real success with the AZ Alkmaar team, with which he played in the 2019/2020 season

Slot became Feyenoord’s coach in July 2021. In the previous season, the association from Rotterdam finished 5th in the league, scoring 29 points less than the champion Ajax. In the first season of the new coach, he led the club to third place in the league and reached the final of the European Conference League, where they lost to Roma led by José Mourinho, but it was already a huge achievement for the team to get there.

There are 5 rounds to go in the current season and they are nine points behind PSV Eindhoven, but they are still in contention for the title and have won the Dutch cup, the KNVB Cup.

GiveMeSport according to article although little known in the international football world, Slot is a highly respected professional in the Netherlands.

“He is a very good manager and it happens that someone quickly becomes a good professional. I have been following Feyenoord for forty years. Not since the 1980s, when Johan Cruyff led Ajax, has there been a coach with such an attacking spirit in the Dutch league. Cruyff only had a few disciples who followed him and one of them was Pep Guardiola. Based on what I’ve seen in recent years, I’d say Slot is a Guardiola-style manager.”

This is definitely a huge compliment, since the Catalan coach is beyond dispute one of the best football managers in the world. But The Athletic wrote in detail about what this offensive coaching approach means. According to the paper, Slot plays energetic attacking football and helped Feyenoord win the club’s second league title in two decades, losing just two games.

The Dutch coach most often sends his team to the field in a 4-2-3-1 formation and tries to break through the opponent’s lines with two midfielders. He strives for as much ball possession as possible (he resembles Guardiola in this) and tries to exert constant pressure on the opponent (in this, Klopp).

Feyenoord has never spent more than 8 million euros on a player, and Slot has proven that he is able to make the most of the talents of the players at his disposal and integrate young footballers from the youth team into the team. Attacking football, aggressive, dominant play, pressure, team building with little money, and the best possible integration of the youth. Familiar, right??

Virgil van Dijk, the captain of the Dutch national football team and Liverpool, was asked about the coach, who believes that Arne Slot is one of the most suitable candidates for the position of Liverpool coach. “I think Arne Slot is one of the best Dutch coaches at the moment. I think his philosophy of the game allows him to coach Liverpool. This is just my opinion, based on what I’ve read and heard, but it’s far from final” said the footballer.