Liverpool players were looking for signs last summer as to how their new boss would succeed a club legend and turn his rich inheritance intoPremier Leaguechampions. Arne Slot made sure they were unmissable from the start.
At the plush Fairmont hotel in downtown Pittsburgh, first port of call on Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the US and their first bonding trip abroad last July, names would be written on a board giving advance notice of that day’s meeting schedule. There were one-on-one meetings for players with a member of Slot’s coaching team, squad meetings with all of the new backroom staff, meetings to analyse the double training sessions and meetings to analyse individual performances within them. There had been two meetings a day at Liverpool’s Axa Training Centre before the trip but this was another level.
“I remember he showed a lot of clips from training,” recalled Ibrahima Konaté, one of several players to step up a level this season. “He showed one player who didn’t run well or stopped running and said: ‘He didn’t run now. Why, because I give you a compliment?’ He said the truth to everyone. Mo [Salah], Virgil [van Dijk], every player if something is wrong. Every player was like: ‘Oh, he looks at me every day, he looks at me every training session. I have to give 2,000% always.’”
Jürgen Klopp won hearts duringnine transformative years as Liverpool’s manager. Slot, with his more educationist approach, absolute trust in the players bequeathed by Klopp and his own methods, sought to win over minds. The buy-in from a squad blessed with leaders and a mentality to match its talent, the strongest that Slot has encountered in both aspects, ensured it was possible. A record-equalling 20th league title is the reward.
Liverpool appointed a football nerd whenRichard Hughes, their sporting director, met Slot at his home in Zwolle 12 months ago and presented the data analysis and character references that made him the club’s preferred choice to succeed Klopp. The timing of the German’s departure, announced in private to Liverpool’s owners in November 2023 andto a stunned publicin January 2024, offered the rare luxury of time in the search for a replacement and it was not squandered.
Meetings that have become an established part of daily life at the training ground helped ingrain Slot’s tactical ideas into players during a pre-season disrupted by the European Championship. The head coach had his entire squad together for only 13 days before thePremier League opener at Ipswichbut, in another sign of how things were changing, there were no complaints.
“It is a disadvantage,” said the phlegmatic Dutchman of the schedule. “But not an excuse.” Impromptu tactical discussions form part of Slot’s approach too. If the head coach bumps into a player in the corridors of the training ground he will grab a nearby tactics board and outline his thoughts. Rather than lambast below-par first-half performances, and there have been several, Slot heads for the tactics board during the interval and calmly explains the changes required. Immediate and vast improvements in the second half have been a feature of Liverpool’s campaign. Southampton at home in March was an exception. Slot slaughtered his players before talking tactics. It had a similar effect. A 1-0 half-time deficit became a 2-1 lead by the 55th minute andLiverpool won 3-1.
The 46-year-old has lived alone since moving to England. With his two children in exam years, he and his wife, Mirjam, agreed they should continue their schooling in the Netherlands. The separation has been a wrench but has enabled Slot to devote even more time to watching matches and opponents. His family visit whenever possible, as do his parents. Slot’s father, Arend, wasportrayed as his harshest criticfor bemoaning Liverpool’s performancein victory against Lillein January. The reality is different. Arend will accompany his son on post-match media rounds when he visits, standing in the background and beaming the smile of the proudest dad as Slot takes another victory in his stride. Slot’s reaction is not much different after a rare defeat; level-headed and refreshingly honest.
Whereas Klopp was a collider of emotional energy before, during and after games, match-day Slot is Zen by comparison. Most of the time. Before his uncharacteristic meltdown aftertwo points ebbed awayat Goodison Park, wherehis words to the referee Michael Oliverresulted in a two-match touchline ban, there was a pre-match scene that captured Slot’s coolness to perfection. David Moyes was engaged in conversation with Liverpool staff for several minutes before recognising his opposite number outside the away changing room. Slot had been on his haunches all that time, reading the programme. His demeanour reflected a coach with complete confidence in the work done on the training ground. No point stressing now.
Trust in the process was evident after thehome defeat by Nottingham Forestlast September. Slot was stunned to lose to a team that had been in relegation trouble the season before – he has changed his opinion on Forest now of course – but, even afterfalling behind in the next game in Milan, there was never any question of changing course. A 26-game unbeaten run in the league followed.
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Slot, whose11 wins in his first 12 matchesare a record for a Liverpool manager, has never attempted to replace Klopp. A shared love of padel – the club’s coaches play after training every day and Slot even has his own padel coach – and dynamic, attacking football are about as far as the similarities go. The former Feyenoord coach had been in the job five weeks before he was presented to the media alongside Hughes. The delay was deliberate and resisted a growing clamour for him to speak. Slot wanted to put a respectful distance between his introduction as Liverpool head coach andthe German’s emotional exit. There was also an acknowledgment that Slot could not match his charismatic predecessor’s oratory skills and it would therefore help the transition to put space between them.
Slot’s lack of ego is reflected in his style of play. He embraced Klopp’s players along with elements of Klopp’s game – see the second-half onslaughtagainst Brighton that took Liverpool topon 2 November, a position they never relinquished – while introducing more control and composure on the ball. Midfield has flourished as a result. The deployment ofRyan Gravenberch as a No 6has been a revelation. Slot planned the switch before Liverpool missed out on their main transfer target of last summer, Real Sociedad’s defensive midfielder Martín Zubimendi. Gravenberch was not thrust there out of necessity after. Slot and Liverpool’s chief scout, Barry Hunter, were aware of the Netherland international’s ability to play a more defensive role from watching him at Ajax. A standout display in the 3-0 pre-season win over Manchester United in Columbia, South Carolina convinced them to press ahead.
Did the Liverpool head coach get lucky? A kind fixture list that enabled the champions to build momentum from day one anda Manchester City collapsethat Klopp could only dream of have been cited in favour of that argument. However, Slot’s real fortune was to inherit an outstanding dressing-room culture and a gifted, balanced squad that did not require upgrading, as last summer’s quiet transfer window and results have demonstrated.
Against a potentially destabilising backdrop of contract uncertainty, Van Dijk took on more responsibility to become a Liverpool captain with greater authority on and off the pitch. A true leader. Mohamed Salah produced more goals and assists than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues to confirm he is not merely one of the finest players in the world, but one of the most dedicated at the age of 32. Together they made a mockery of suggestions that this season would prove the end of an era for Liverpool. There is seniority throughout the team, however, eclipsing that of domestic rivals. Konaté has captained France this season, Dominik Szoboszlai is the captain of Hungary, Andy Robertson is Scotland’s captain, and Alisson and Trent Alexander-Arnold enhance the leadership group. They have helped make the transition seamless.
“I am not a clone of Jürgen,”Slot insisted when he faced the media for the first time as Liverpool’s head coach last July. That is not strictly true. Both can now say they have delivered the Premier League trophy to Liverpool.