Who is Arne Slot? All about Feyenoord’s coach favoured to replace Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool FC’s manager
ARNE Slott has emerged as a frontrunner in the race to find Liverpool’s next manager.
With Jurgen Klopp’s Anfield departure looming, here’s everything you need to know about the current Feyenoord coach.
Who is Arne Slot?
Slot was born in Bergentheim, Netherlands on September 17, 1978, meaning he is currently 45 years of age.
His playing career began in 1995 with Zwolle, where he spent seven years in midfield and scored 50 goals in 164 appearances.
Slot spent played for NAC Breda for five years and Sparta Rotterdam for three years, before returning to Zwolle.
He scored over 100 goals in the course of his 18-year playing career.
Slot became youth coach of Zwolle after retiring from the side as a player in 2013.
In 2014, he was appointed as an assistant of Henk de Jong at Cambuur.
The following year he became John van den Brom’s assistant at AZ Alkmaar, going on to succeed him as the club’s head coach in 2019.
Slot made a fine start to the 19/20 season, picking up 19 points from his first eight games in charge.
But the season was cancelled in April 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic — AZ were joint top with Ajax on 56 points after 25 games.
With AZ seventh in the league, he was sacked before Christmas in 2020 due to being in talks with Feyenoord, where he took over as head coach soon after.
In his first full season at Feyenoord, Slot reached the inaugural Europa Conference League final, losing to José Mourinho’s Roma.
Slot led Feyenoord to their first League title in six years the following season.
He was heavily linked to the Spurs job at the beginning of the 23/24 season, but eventually opted to stay in the Netherlands.
In April 2024, Slot won his second trophy with Feyenoord when they beat NEC in the final of the 2024 Dutch Cup.
At the time of writing Feyenoord are second in the Eredivisie, nine points behind PSV after 30 games.
Slot is understood to be keen on taking charge at Anfield, just a year after snubbing Tottenham.
He’s not only been a successful manager, he’s also been hugely impressive with his playing style of very attack-minded, Pep Guardiola-style football
Marcel van der Kraan
However, Feyenoord are reluctant to let Slot go and are demanding a tasty fee in return.
Liverpool have been locked in talks with their Dutch counterparts, and on April 24 offered £8million to release Slot from his contract.
However, this has been turned down by Feyenoord.
Is Arne Slot married and does he have children?
Yes, Slot is married to his wife Miriam.
The couple reportedly has children, but no details about them are available in the public domain.
Slot is very private and prefers to keep his family’s personal information out of the spotlight.
What style of football does Arne Slot play?
Slot’s management style encourages his teams to play “sexy” and “attack-minded” football.
Dutch football journalist Marcel van der Kraan told Sky Sports: “He is the prime candidate for Liverpool.
‘It was only a matter of time before another big English club would come knocking on the door.
‘He’s not only been a successful manager, he’s also been hugely impressive with his playing style of very attack-minded, Pep Guardiola-style football.
“I don’t expect Feyenoord to stand in the way. They know he’s a manager in demand but they will demand a big compensation fee. He has two years left on his contract that was a record deal.
“Never before in Dutch football has a team paid a manager such huge wages.
‘The players like him, the fans love him, the club love him — they won’t want him to go.
“Feyenoord have every right to demand a big fee as there is no clause in his contract which he renewed last year.
“He’s been a successful coach and made Feyenoord champions playing crazy, sexy football.
“It is sexy what this man brings on a football pitch.
“There’s nothing more to win for him here. The next step for him is to enter a club in a big league and no league is bigger for the Dutch than the Premier League.
“I will be surprised if Slot doesn’t bite at this chance and become the manger of Liverpool next season.”
Does Arne Slot speak English?
One of the reasons Slot is the preferred candidate to succeed Klopp at Liverpool is because he is great at communicating his footballing philosophy to his teams’ players.
In such a successful side, he would certainly be expected to hit the ground running at Anfield if he does take over as manager.
And in this respect he has an advantage over many other candidates from around the footballing world, as he already speaks English fluently.