Atletico Madrid boss got physical with his Dutch counterpart after Feyenoord beat them in a friendly
- 19 days ago
Diego Simeone isn't the most difficult football manager to wind up but Arne Slot's reaction spoke volumes.
The Atletico Madrid boss got physical with his Dutch counterpart after Feyenoord beat them in a 2021 friendly, shoving Slot in the chest and launching a verbal volley.
Slot's Stone Island gear suggested he might have been up for a scrap but instead, he just stood his ground and smiled mockingly at Simeone, who backed down.
It was the sign of a man who doesn't shy away from a challenge.
Feyenoord's coach is ruthlessly ambitious and a control freak who demands total control at the club. But he also has emotional intelligence, knows how to create a team ethic, and plays attractive football.
So there are reasons both for and against his suitability for the unenviable task of succeeding Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.
Slot, 45, who has just backed up last season's Eredivisie title win by delivering the KNVB Cup to Rotterdam, has emerged as a strong contender for the Anfield gig.
Indeed, on Wednesday morning it emerged talks have already begun between Liverpool and Feyenoord with the compensation fee set at £8.5million.
On the face of it, Slot's 4-3-3 formation, intensity of pressing, and high-energy attack bear many resemblances to Klopp's 'heavy metal' (Slot is more into his rap music).
But the Liverpool vacancy requires so much more than just a good tactician.
For nine years, Klopp has carried not only a club but at times a city defiant in its own identity and independence.
That emotional burden has ultimately caught up with him but not before he won the biggest honours in the game.
Liverpool's new manager must not only perform in Klopp's lingering shadow but somehow keep up his boundless energy and forge the same bonds with a demanding fanbase and players that aren't his own.
The experiences of David Moyes and Unai Emery, after Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, have shown just how difficult it is to follow a manager of legendary stature.
Some would say the man who follows Klopp is in a similar hiding to nothing even if Liverpool fans would surely be sympathetic and patient if there was regression next season.
Like Klopp, Slot had a respectable but hardly spectacular playing career at the likes of FC Zwolle and NAC Breda rather than Ajax or Feyenoord.
But when it comes to coaching, Slot sees no reason to curb his ambitions, even if it has rubbed people up the wrong way.
AZ Alkmaar abruptly sacked him in December 2020 because owner Robert Eenhoorn learned he'd attended a clandestine meeting with Feyenoord and agreed to replace Dick Advocaat.
Even as he wins trophies at Feyenoord, Slot has been unafraid to speak about his career trajectory.
'My next step will not be a club in Holland,' he said in 2023. 'If that is my next step, then I've failed.
'The normal next step will be to go abroad and I've always said the best league in the world is the Premier League.'
The Atletico Madrid boss got physical with his Dutch counterpart after Feyenoord beat them in a 2021 friendly, shoving Slot in the chest and launching a verbal volley.
Slot's Stone Island gear suggested he might have been up for a scrap but instead, he just stood his ground and smiled mockingly at Simeone, who backed down.
It was the sign of a man who doesn't shy away from a challenge.
Feyenoord's coach is ruthlessly ambitious and a control freak who demands total control at the club. But he also has emotional intelligence, knows how to create a team ethic, and plays attractive football.
So there are reasons both for and against his suitability for the unenviable task of succeeding Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.
Slot, 45, who has just backed up last season's Eredivisie title win by delivering the KNVB Cup to Rotterdam, has emerged as a strong contender for the Anfield gig.
Indeed, on Wednesday morning it emerged talks have already begun between Liverpool and Feyenoord with the compensation fee set at £8.5million.
On the face of it, Slot's 4-3-3 formation, intensity of pressing, and high-energy attack bear many resemblances to Klopp's 'heavy metal' (Slot is more into his rap music).
But the Liverpool vacancy requires so much more than just a good tactician.
For nine years, Klopp has carried not only a club but at times a city defiant in its own identity and independence.
That emotional burden has ultimately caught up with him but not before he won the biggest honours in the game.
Liverpool's new manager must not only perform in Klopp's lingering shadow but somehow keep up his boundless energy and forge the same bonds with a demanding fanbase and players that aren't his own.
The experiences of David Moyes and Unai Emery, after Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, have shown just how difficult it is to follow a manager of legendary stature.
Some would say the man who follows Klopp is in a similar hiding to nothing even if Liverpool fans would surely be sympathetic and patient if there was regression next season.
Like Klopp, Slot had a respectable but hardly spectacular playing career at the likes of FC Zwolle and NAC Breda rather than Ajax or Feyenoord.
But when it comes to coaching, Slot sees no reason to curb his ambitions, even if it has rubbed people up the wrong way.
AZ Alkmaar abruptly sacked him in December 2020 because owner Robert Eenhoorn learned he'd attended a clandestine meeting with Feyenoord and agreed to replace Dick Advocaat.
Even as he wins trophies at Feyenoord, Slot has been unafraid to speak about his career trajectory.
'My next step will not be a club in Holland,' he said in 2023. 'If that is my next step, then I've failed.
'The normal next step will be to go abroad and I've always said the best league in the world is the Premier League.'