Arne Slot has now publicly confirmed that he wants to take the job as Liverpool’s new manager, and become Jürgen Klopp’s successor at Anfield.
Liverpool and Feyenoord have been in negotiations over the amount of compensation since Wednesday, and although the first offer of nine million euros was rejected, there is optimism from all sides that a solution will be reached. Also from Slot himself, who expects the parties to agree.
One person who knows Slot well is former Liverpool player Sander Westerveld. Westerveld played 103 games for the Reds between 1999 and 2001. Six years later, he would become a teammate of Slot in Sparta Rotterdam. Westerveld was a goalkeeper, and Slot was a midfielder. They are still close friends.
– I don’t just remember Arne, because he still uses me as his golf buddy since I’m the only one of his friends who doesn’t have a real job. When he has a day off, he calls me. We play golf together and see each other regularly, says Westerveld to The Times.
– When I played with Arne in Sparta, you could see that he was going to become a coach. He was a leader, number 10 in midfield and someone who could change tactics on his own.
I think he will be a perfect fit
As a good friend, Westerveld may not be the most neutral here, but the 49-year-old believes that the four-year-younger manager will be a perfect fit.
– The work he has done at Feyenoord means that he will be a perfect fit for Liverpool. He came there from AZ Alkmaar, and AZ had finished higher in the table than Feyenoord, but he wanted to go there because he liked the challenge and thought that the coach there had not brought out the full potential of the team. When he signed for Feyenoord, they sold their best player, Steven Berghuis, to Ajax and they didn’t have much money to spend. Everyone said it would be difficult, but Arne said: “No, no, I want to make this happen”. The following year he won the league in the Netherlands with this team, and therefore I think there are similarities with Liverpool, he says.
– Liverpool has a lot of potential in the squad, and does not have the money that Manchester City can spend. I think he will bring out all the potential in the players. He plays in a similar way to Jürgen Klopp. Sexy football, with pressure, and nobody in the Netherlands wins the ball again more often in the opponent’s half. When he loses the ball he wants it back within three seconds, he says.
– Another good thing is that his assistant Sipke Hulshoff is Ronald Koeman’s assistant with the Dutch national team, so he is already training Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch. I’ve heard people say that Arne doesn’t have enough experience, but he’s won the league, reached a final in the European Cup, and won the cup.
He believes he has the personality needed to coach a club like Liverpool.
– His personality is perfect for Liverpool. He is a good fit, because he is not only the manager of the team, he can handle both the club and the supporters. He is an intelligent guy, a good analyst, and when you watch his press conferences, he speaks good English and has a lot of respect. You will not see him behaving like Erik Ten Hag in his last press conference. He is respected, in the same way as Pep Guardiola, and is an ambassador for the club. You have to be a special coach to coach a special club, and I think Arne has that.
