Arne Slot was 18 hours from one of the biggest disappointments of his career when a match took place that would inspire him.
In May 2011, while Jurgen Klopp was celebrating his first Bundesliga title with Borussia Dortmund, Slot played in midfield as FC Zwolle lost a play-off to VVV-Venlo, denying them promotion to the Dutch top flight on that sad Sunday afternoon. The previous evening, however, the 32-year-old had seen the example that he was determined to follow. Barcelona had beaten Manchester United 3-1 at Wembley with the greatest performance ever delivered in a Champions League final, engineered by Slot’s biggest coaching idol: Pep Guardiola.
“In the past 20 years, there has been one person who stands above others,” declared Slot in 2022. “He has inspired lots of coaches. What he does is so incredibly clever, and so beautiful for football, too. Guardiola will still be talked about in 50 years.”
Now, the disciple has arrived to take on the messiah. Slot’s Liverpool will attempt to wrestle the Premier League title back from Manchester City, using Klopp’s players, and guided by some of Guardiola’s teachings.
A COACH IN THE MAKING
Guardiola won the European Cup as a player, with Barcelona. Slot did not hit such heights.
Hailing from the village of Bergentheim, a couple of miles from the German border, the Dutchman joined nearby Zwolle as a teenager for the first of two spells at the club. Sporting flowing locks back then, he showed potential as an attacking midfielder.
“Their coach was a friend of mine, Jan Everse, and he told me that he was a very good player but a player with his own opinion, who knew better than the coach,” Martijn Krabbendam, of respected Dutch magazine Voetbal International, tells FourFourTwo. “He was very technical, but Jan felt that he had to work harder and run more. Later he was at NAC Breda, where Henk ten Cate said the same thing.”
Slot joined NAC in 2002, having become Zwolle’s leading goalscorer when they won
