2 months ago
Arne Slot's Liverpool template derives from a coaching legend that existed before Jurgen Klopp. Arne Slot's coaching inspiration has been exposed, and he is attempting to bring his exciting style of football to Liverpool
Arne Slot may well be labelled as the new Jurgen Klopp due to the manner he has smoothly followed the iconic Liverpool manager at Anfield. Or call him the Dutch Pep Guardiola since he admires the Manchester City manager's footballing style. His main source of inspiration, however, is closer to home, in the Netherlands.
Slot has long liked Johan Cruyff's theory and style of Total Football. While that title is often applied to previous Dutch manager Rinus Michels, Cruyff was the one who brought it to Dutch football in the 1970s, when the national team reached consecutive World Cup Finals in 1974 and 1978. This is the football style Slot has brought across the North Sea from Feyenoord to Anfield. Slot is the tenth Dutch coach in the Premier League, and none of them have won the league, despite winning four FA Cups and a Carabao Cup.
Bert van Marwijk, a former Dutch national coach, complimented Slot for his bravery, saying that while he enjoys attacking football, he realized it was too risky as he guided the Netherlands to the 2010 World Cup Final. "Everyone in The Netherlands is desperate for Slot to do well because it will bring back the glamour of Johan Cruyff," according to van Marwijk. "The majority of coaches play it safe when they join a new team, but Slot displays courage.
"At this level of football, you don't always have time, but he understands that if you want to execute your system, you must start from day one. "I believe it is too early to make a full assessment of Liverpool under Slot, but they have looked fantastic thus far. Slot enjoys grabbing opponents by the throat and shaking things up with a football from behind. Slot has learned from Cruyff to use triangles, and as player A passes the ball to player B, player C is already running into space and making himself available. Another example of the aggressive style he has learned from Cruyff is his desire that his players move up in front of their marker to intercept.
The clearest illustration of this is Ryan Gravenberch's turnaround, which occurred after Slot spent a week in pre-season with his fellow Dutchman, training him to anticipate opponents' play in the No.6 spot. This was clear against Manchester United, when Liverpool demolished their biggest rivals 3-0 to maintain their perfect start under Slot, and Gravenberch had 12 interceptions.
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