Arne Slot spoke of his pride and disbelief at joining the illustrious band of legends to have won a league championship withLiverpoolafter sealing the club’s record-equalling 20th title.
The 46-year-old, who took on the seemingly unenviable task of succeeding Jürgen Klopp last summer, became the first Dutch coach to win the Premier League courtesy of a 5-1 rout of Tottenham.
Liverpool needed a point to seal the title but took all three in style to complete a stunning debut season by Slot. He is the 10th Liverpool manager to win the league but the first to become champion in his debut season with the club.
Slot paid tribute to his predecessor for bequeathing a title-winning squad and hardworking culture and to Liverpool’s owners, Fenway Sports Group, for what he claimed was the bold decision to appoint him last summer.
“I’m very, very happy of course but to a certain extent it also feels unreal,” he said. “You’ve worked so hard for this moment to happen and, when it does happen, you need time to truly feel it. The fans were so happy that it didn’t take me long to understand what we’ve achieved together this season.
“It is so special. It was a proud moment when I knew I would become the new head coach here, to be part of such a great football club, and to now be part of the history of this football club is something I could have only dreamed of three or four years ago.
‘The first time I came here was when Pep Lijnders [Liverpool’s former assistant manager] invited me and that was against Tottenham. We all know what happened around Tottenham one or two years ago [the VAR decision] so now to win it against them is quite special.”
Victory brings Liverpool level with fallen rivals Manchester United on 20 league championships. It is their second Premier League title in five years but unlike 2020, when Klopp’s team ended the club’s 30-year wait for a 19th league crown behind closed doors, their latest triumph was celebrated in front of jubilant supporters.
Liverpool were unable to hold a trophy parade five years ago because of the pandemic but one will be staged in the city on Monday 26 May. Klopp may be in attendance, having assembled the supremely talented squad that Slot inherited. The Liverpool head coach sang Klopp’s name on the pitch after the final whistle, reciprocating the welcome his predecessor gave him at Klopp’s final game in charge last season.
“The only moment I was emotional today was when we arrived at the stadium to see what it meant for the fans, for these people,” Slot said. “For us to have a chance to win it was really special but we still had to do it. Everyone inside that bus felt, if the fans are with us like that, it was impossible to lose this game of football.”
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Slot’s side have topped the table since 2 November. After a home defeat by Nottingham Forest in the fourth game of the season, Liverpool embarked on a 26-match unbeaten league run that lasted almost seven months. The former Feyenoord coach, who said he would celebrate with a “beer or two or three”, praised FSG and Liverpool’s sporting director, Richard Hughes, for appointing him last summer.
He said: “It was special for them to be part of this moment. For them to trust me in this position, maybe now everyone says it makes complete sense, but the moment they signed me maybe not everyone was as convinced as they are now. That tells you what a special club this is because that they don’t always go for the most simple or obvious choice. They make the choice that is best for the club. It must be a special time for them, second time in five years that they win the league and to do it in front of our fans is special, including for them.”
Slot follows José Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Manuel Pellegrini and Antonio Conte as the fifth manager to win the title in his first season in the Premier League. The Dutch coach is also the fourth Liverpool manager to win the championship at the first attempt, following Matt McQueen in 1922-23, Joe Fagan in 1983-84 and Kenny Dalglish in 1985-86, although his predecessors were all established figures at Anfield before stepping into the role. Slot is the only one to win the league in his first season at the club.
His wife and two children were present at Anfield to see him make history. “It is special to have them with me because my family, and all of the families of the players, have to make sacrifices if you do this job not only this season but your whole career,” he said. “My family was still in Holland this year so, in moments, it was hard for me but also for them. To win it, everyone feels the few sacrifices we made were definitely worth it and it is special they experience this moment as well.”