ARNE SLOT was a good enough player to have a type of pass named after him.
But it is as a manager that the Feyenoord head coach is really making his mark.
Like another bald Dutchman, Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag, Slot earned his stripes bossing smaller sides before being given a chance at one of the Netherlands’ big three.
But the question Liverpool are pondering is whether Slot would make a better fist of running one of the biggest clubs in the world than Ten Hag so far has at Old Trafford.
Slot, 45, was certainly easier on the eye as a player than centre back Ten Hag.
“The Arne Slot Ball” was something he perfected as a silky No 10 – a back-to-goal, first-time, 180-degree spin and flick behind the defensive line for a winger to run on to deep in the opposition half.
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Bram van Polen was Slot’s team-mate when he ended his playing career with a three-year spell back at first pro club PEC Zwolle.
Van Polen, now Zwolle captain, saw Slot the coach emerging in their spell together and said: “You sometimes still see things in the game at Feyenoord.
“The Arne Slot ball still exists with us at PEC and Kokcu [Feyenoord’s Turkish playmaker] also wants to play those type of passes.
“We also did a lot of pressing and played exactly the same as Feyenoord now.
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“It doesn’t surprise me that he plays like that.”
It is also no surprise that Slot is high on Liverpool’s shortlist to succeed Jurgen Klopp, just as Ten Hag was an attractive candidate for United.
In fact, but for the pandemic, Slot might have put himself in a position to be considered by United as well or at least raised questions about Ten Hag’s credentials.
After cutting his teeth at Cambuur, Slot moved to AZ Alkmaar in 2017 as assistant before becoming head coach for the 2019/20 season.
In March 2020, AZ won 2-0 at Ajax to put themselves level on points with Ten Hag’s defending champions with nine games to go.
But when Covid-19 took hold, the Dutch season was abandoned, denying Slot the chance to win his first title.
In contrast, the Premier League campaign resumed later in the year and Klopp was able to guide Liverpool to their first championship for three decades
Slot had another bump in the road when AZ found out in December 2020 that he had been talking to Feyenoord about replacing outgoing boss Dick Advocaat.
He was sacked and spent six months playing golf before taking up the post in Rotterdam.
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Slot showed he could mix it with the best even before his first season began.
After a bad-tempered friendly against Atletico Madrid, he and Diego Simeone got physical.
Slot later explained: “At that moment, at the end of the match, I turned to Simeone to tell him how passionate he was even in a friendly match.
“Then, he misinterpreted the smile I had at that moment and pushed me.”
Feyenoord reached the Europa Conference League final in Slot’s debut campaign, losing to Jose Mourinho’s Roma.
Although Ten Hag led Ajax to a third title in a row, it was Slot who won the Netherlands’ Manager of the Year award.
Ten Hag left for Old Trafford that summer of 2022 but key Feyenoord players Luis Sinisterra and Marcos Senesi also moved to the Premier League, to Leeds and Bournemouth, and other sales left the Rotterdam club looking short of quality and depth.
Yet Slot took Feyenoord to their first Dutch title for six years, playing an exciting brand of football with a team mostly aged 24 or under.
His simple approach saw his players to press for the full 90 minutes in order to defend from the front before looking to control possession.
Slot believes that Jose Mourinho-style defensive football is more tiring and also less stimulating for players – and his results speak for themselves.
Like Klopp, he is said to be an expert man-manager who communicates clearly to his players what he expects from them.
Slot turned down the chance to join Tottenham last year and signed a new deal with Feyenoord.
Feyenoord did not get out of their Champions League group, despite beating both Celtic and Lazio, and lost their title to a PSV side having an incredible season.
But Slot led the club to Dutch Cup triumph recently and his star remains in the ascendent.
It’s fair to say coaches from the Netherlands have had mixed fortunes in England.
No Dutchman has won a Premier League title and former Eredivisie champions like Louis van Gaal, Frank de Boer and now Ten Hag have all found life tough, for various reasons.
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Slot ticks a lot of boxes for Liverpool. His teams have consistently played attractive football and competed with rivals with even bigger budgets. He improves players and gives youngsters a chance. He is funny, likeable and charismatic.
But to match Klopp’s achievements, Slot will have to do better than any of his compatriots, including Ten Hag.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
