Liverpool’s new era is just two proper pre-season matches old but there are already huge signs of life as Arne Slot continues to work with the extremely talented squad he inherited from Jurgen Klopp.
Whilst the Dutchman tweaks and alters the crop, with rewards already beginning to show on the pitch, new arrivals are still expected to happen before the summer transfer window passes at the end of August.
Appointed with a track record of improving what was at his disposal and with success already achieved in Holland, those who have previously worked with Slot have been effusive in their praise.
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We’ve spoken to another of the 45-year-old’s disciples, Martijn Barto, a forward who played under Slot and his assistant Sipke Hulschoff on 44 occasions, scoring 17 times and providing 6 assists during their time at SC Cambuur.
Furthermore, since retiring Barto has himself moved into the coaching world as a youth coach and assistant manager at Cambuur.
On the duo, Martijn said: “They worked both together, Arne came from the second team and was getting his licences, Sipke did an amazing job with Arne the genius behind it.
“I remember our KNVB Cup run, we played Utrecht from the top division, we were one nil down at half-time and in the dressing room I just knew Arne would have a plan. He did and he told us how we were going to change the game, we did what he said and we won.
“Then in the next round, we played Ajax with Frenkie de Jong, Matthias de Ligt and others, everyone knows Ajax. In this game, we played a totally new formation, a 5-3-2. He told us we were playing this new way and in two weeks he had shown us how and what we were going to do, how we were going to play, we won 2-1 and it was at that moment I thought ‘He’s going to be a great coach’.”
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On Arne’s communication: “He didn’t pick me for a game once and he called me into his office to explain his reasons. I had so much respect, that was the connection we had, he was honest but hard. I would describe him as ‘social’, he had a really good idea of football but he also managed to get it over to the team.”
On Arne’s training methods: “All through the week he would be using clips, even with Cambuur second team, he would be showing video clips from Liverpool and Manchester City, no matter what level he would say all of it is possible. He had a really big library of different video clips from all over.”
On Arne’s career so far: “I played for Cambuur for years but Feyenoord is my club and when Arne moved there my friend called me and asked if he was any good. I said ‘Give him time, two years and he will make Feyenoord champions’. Let him do his thing and he did. If he’s allowed to get his philosophy over he can be a success and I really hope he can do the same with Liverpool.”
On Arne’s use of young players: “He has no problem bringing youngsters in, he looks at the quality and if they’re good enough it doesn’t matter about the age. At Cambuur we had a young player, Jamiro Monteiro, Arne recognised his quality, he understood the philosophy, he came in and never went out. Arne gave players the freedom to showcase their talent with the common goal always in mind as a team.”
On his own coaching path: “I try to take bits from all the coaches I played for but as I say, Arne had a really good feeling for the social part of the game, combined with his tactics and philosophy, these things make him for me the best coach I ever had.”
“I hope he can do the same as he did with Cambuur, AZ Alkmaar and Feyenoord at Liverpool, I will be following.”
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Redmen Reacts
Yet another glowing endorsement for the new man at the helm at Anfield and the early signs are certainly positive. Whilst Martijn’s fond memories could be further enhanced by his own personal record under Slot (he also scored the two goals to sink Ajax), it’s encouraging to hear a former player speak so well about his experiences, both on the pitch and off it.
Here’s hoping we and the current squad will have similar positive memories to speak of in years to come.
