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4 months ago
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He was a player before becoming a coach
If his first experience on a bench with a young team took place in the summer of 2013, Arne Slot had just finished his playing career. Trained at PEC Zwolle with whom he made his debut in September 1998, Arne Slot worked in the Netherlands for 15 years. A versatile attacking midfielder who played on the entire front of the attack, but also in different midfield positions, he will have only known three clubs. In addition to PEC Zwolle (176 matches, 52 goals and 30 donations), he will have worn the jersey of NAC Breda (154 matches, 22 goals and 16 donations) and Sparta Rotterdam (57 matches, 6 goals and 7 donations). Alternating between the first (208 matches) and the second Dutch division (136 matches), he experienced Europe twice with NAC Breda, in the 2002/2003 Intertoto Cup and the 2003/2004 UEFA Cup. Considered an elegant player, Arne Slot did not leave his mark on Dutch football as a player but had certain qualities.
He could have been champion without Covid-19
During his first experience as a professional coach with AZ Alkmaar where he was previously assistant, Arne Slot quickly had impressive results. With 18 wins, 2 draws and 5 wins in 25 matches, a slick game and a touch that was felt, he took his team to second place tied on points with Ajax Amsterdam. In the middle of the title race with the Godenzonen, AZ Alkmaar was cut short since the Covid-19 pandemic froze the season which did not resume and no champion was designated. However, AZ Alkmaar surprised everyone with the trio Calvin Stengs, Oussama Idrissi and Myron Boadu as well as the work of coach Arne Slot. “We could already see Arne Slot’s hand in the AZ teams over the last two years. This season, he and the players were already familiar. And he knew all the young people from the U19 and U21 teams. He plays attacking football and says: When you play attacking football, players tend to have more fun in training. Even in the away games against PSV and Feyenoord and in the home game against Manchester United, AZ were very offensive.Steven Kooijman, a journalist for De Telegraaf.
He was fired for being undefeated in the Eredivisie
Remaining at AZ Alkmaar after this season, Arne Slot tried to take the Dutch club far into Europe. Released in the 3rd round of the Europa League, he had a good group stage in the Europa League with 8 points in 5 matches in a group with Napoli, Real Sociedad and Rijeka (his team finished third upon his departure after a defeat against Rijeka editor’s note). In the league, AZ Alkmaar did not get off to a great start, but did not experience defeat with 4 wins and 5 draws in 9 matches. However, Arne Slot was sacked. Announced on the bench of Feyenoord where Dick Advocaat was no longer unanimous, he was dismissed. “We want a head coach who focuses entirely on AZ”declared Max Huiberts, technical director of AZ Alkmaar in December 2020. A few months later, Arne Slot landed on the Feyenoord bench.
He put Feyenoord back on top
The third most successful Dutch club in history behind Ajax Amsterdam and PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord Rotterdam remains an institution in the Netherlands. Only titled in 2017, De Trots van Zuid, or the Pride of the South, has not only had easy times in recent seasons. Moreover, Arne Slot had recovered a club which had finished fifth far from its rivals, but quickly put it back in working order. Third for his first season behind Ajax Amsterdam and PSV Eindhoven, he surprised his world in the European Cup by reaching the final of the first edition of the Europa Conference League by defeating Partizan Belgrade, Slavia Prague and Olympique. from Marseille. In the final, however, AS Roma won via a goal from Nicolo Zaniolo (1-0). The following season allowed national confirmation with a title acquired by forceps in Eredivisie. Back in the Champions League, Arne Slot and his men were transferred to the Europa League and won the Dutch Cup against NEC Nijmegen (1-0). Second in a championship crushed this season by PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord remained solid despite everything and confirmed its return among the title contenders.
The Dutch Guardiola
Successor to Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool, Arne Slot is however a big fan of the man who has been the great rival of the Reds coach in recent years: Pep Guardiola. “I definitely don’t want to compare myself to Pep, but he’s a control freak just like me. If I look at myself, I try to win a match in the week before its match, conveying training, pre-match discussions and tactics to the players as perfectly as possible. There is no team in the world I would rather watch than Manchester City, followed by Napoli, Arsenal and Brighton.he declared in an interview in 2023 for International Voetbal. Nicknamed the Dutch Guardiola in the Netherlands, Arne Slot however has a lot of similarities with Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool with an attacking game, intense pressing, the use of 4-3-3 and the desire to build by starting from ‘back. From Guardiola to Klopp, there is only one step, it is up to Arne Slot to take it.
