The next king of the Kop! Arne Slot is a disciple of Guardiola who puts himself in Mourinho’s shoes and relentlessly attacks his team like Klopp. He ticks ALL the boxes for Liverpool

In the tunnel of the Stadio Olimpico, José Mourinho was breathing fire and looking for the man who had gotten into his skin.

Mourinho’s Rome side had just beaten Feyenoord on penalties to reach the quarter-finals of the Europa League last February, but he was in no mood to be kind. The Portuguese man-of-war had a score to settle with Arne Slot and was determined to give his opinion.

Slot, the man expected to become the next king of Liverpool, had lit the blue paper in a pre-match press conference. The first leg between the two sides ended in a 1-1 draw and ahead of the second leg, Slot was asked if he had watched any of Roma’s recent matches to find out more.

With a wry smile, Slot replied that he had seen “one or two”, but made it clear that his idea of ​​learning was watching Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. His style of football and views on the fluidity of the game are closely aligned with those of the Catalans, not Mourinho’s prosaic functionality.

Being the man he is, Mourinho was never going to let him lie.

Jurgen Klopp has just five matches left as Liverpool manager before ending a nearly nine-year stay at the club.

Slot led Feyenoord to their second Eredivisie title in 24 years last season

‘Hey!’ » he shouted when he saw Slot hurrying in front of his dressing room. “Maybe you should have watched those games – maybe you know what it takes to win!”

If only he had kept his mouth shut. Three months later, Slot had transformed Feyenoord into Dutch champions for only the second time in the 21st century, their quest for the title seeing them rack up 11 consecutive wins after that trip to Rome.

The importance of this triumph should not be underestimated. There are three big clubs in the Netherlands but Feyenoord were long the poor relation to Ajax and PSV Eindhoven, until Slot brought them back to the top. Does this story sound familiar to you?

To have any chance of succeeding Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool’s next manager will need a certain character and Slot, obviously, will not fail to defend himself or say things as he sees it. In many ways he resembles the German.

But the next Anfield manager will also need to win games – and lots of them – to prevent the post-Klopp hangover from setting in and there’s reason to believe Slot will: one thing is sure: there will be no conservatism from Mourinho.

Two weeks before this match in Rome, Feyenood played a KNVB Cup match at home against NEC Nijmegen. The spectators at De Kuip Stadium were stunned by what they saw from Slot’s team in terms of relentless attacks.

Remarkably, in 120 minutes, Feyenoord had 50 shots on goal, 27 of which were on target. There were 17 corners, an avalanche of possession. Somehow the match ended 4-4 – NEC converted four of their six chances on the clock – but the hosts progressed via penalties.

It wasn’t so much the result that was remarkable that night, but rather the way Feyenoord played. Afterwards, phones buzzed within the Rotterdam hierarchy, saying they felt they had their own version of Guardiola. They also knew that his progress would not go unnoticed.

At that time, Leeds were keen to sign him and their former director of football, Victor Orta, visited Rotterdam to see if he could do a deal. Feyenoord were never going to entertain, nor was Slot – married father of a son and daughter – who had bigger ambitions than Elland Road.

The importance of this triumph should not be underestimated, given the fall in Feyenoord’s shares in recent years.

Feyenoord won the KNVB Cup last weekend after a 1-0 victory over NEC Nijmegen

Quinten Timber, twin brother of Arsenal defender Justin, has thrived under Slot’s management

Opportunities presented themselves again last summer. He could have gone to Tottenham, he could even have gone to Chelsea, but such was Feyenoord’s determination to keep him that president Toon van Bodegom rewarded him with the biggest contract ever awarded to a manager in the Netherlands.

No one had benefited from a £5million-a-year contract, but Slot, they said adamantly, was worth every penny. He upheld their faith again this season, winning the KNVB Cup last Sunday with a 1-0 victory over NEC Nijmegen – a far more controlled affair than their previous encounter.

Slot has a connection with his players – Quinten Timber, twin brother of Arsenal defender Justin, has flourished under his guidance, as has Slovakian defender David Hancko – that stems from his commitment to improving every day.

“Feyenoord players always say: ‘Everything the coach predicted, we saw in the match,’ says a Rotterdam-based source. “Arne is a workaholic. He is also happy to work with staff and delegates He has a coach for this, a coach for that, and for this and this and that!

“They have to feed him information, then he works out his tactical plan. Feyenoord and Ajax have the biggest fan bases, but Slot brought them back to the top. There was Luis Sinisterrra who didn’t work at the start and everyone wanted to abandon him.

“I don’t know what Slot did, but all of a sudden he lived up to his potential. He went to Leeds for £25 million, one of the biggest sales ever at Feyenoord. Before Slot, he could have opted for a five cent coin! He trusts the players. He rebuilt the club when the best players left.

Critics will say that Slot’s side are trailing PSV in the title race this time around, but the irony is that they have more points than at this stage 12 months ago and have recently annihilated Ajax 6-0: PSV, for their part, were like a runaway train. , with only one defeat and one draw.

All this was noted by Liverpool. The main requirements for Klopp’s replacement were that he had to develop players, be able to connect with fans and be committed to the club’s style of play and he ticks all the boxes.

It would be a mistake to present Klopp 2:0, but it is easy to see parallels in their respective careers as they started at good, solid clubs – for Mainz and Klopp, read AZ Alkmaar and Slot – before becoming bigger scenes. .

Slot, in reality, could have won the title with AZ, but his time there ended in frustration, with the club’s top brass telling him on Saturday morning that he had to leave immediately after he became clear that he was not going to sign another contract, amid interest from Feyenoord.

Slot’s ability to connect with his players has been considered one of his greatest strengths.

Feyenoord humiliated old rivals Ajax by beating them 6-0 in Rotterdam earlier this month.

“As a club, we have chosen to say goodbye immediately,” director of football Max Huiberts said in a statement on the club’s website. “We want to have a head coach who leads the team and is completely focused on AZ.” The manner of this departure still irritates Slot.

How will this end in Rotterdam? That remains to be seen, but the end, it seems, could come very soon. Liverpool made contact with Feyenoord on Wednesday morning and the intention is to complete the deal as quickly as possible, once a compensation package can be resolved.

Then Slot will be clear to start a new chapter, for him and for his new club. One thing is certain: as the episode with Mourinho shows, he will not hesitate to fight.