Pep Guardiola has a lot of fans, including Arne Slot. But the Liverpool target could soon be competing with Guardiola for the top job at Manchester City.
As everyone knows, Arne Slot supports Pep Guardiola. But it looks like the Dutchman will soon be going up against the Spanish coach and his unbeatable Manchester City team.
In their look for a new manager, Liverpool has been to Holland and Feyenoord. Slot, 45, is now the most wanted person to take over for Jurgen Klopp in the summer. The Dutchman has a lot of big shoes to fill before even the deal is signed.
Liverpool and City, like Klopp and Guardiola, have become each other’s main rivals in the last few years as they both try to win major titles. Slot will take over that role with Guardiola, who has been known to praise Slot in the past.
“I certainly don’t want to compare myself to Pep, but he is a control freak just like me,” Slot told the Dutch newspaper Voetbal International in May 2023. For me, the week before a game, I try to win it by making sure the players understand the training, pre-game team talks, and strategies as well as I can.
In fact, Slot went even further and said that watching Guardiola’s teams play was the “ultimate joy in football.” He also said, “Manchester City is the only team in the world I would rather watch. Napoli, Arsenal, and Brighton are the next best.”
“However, City plays a lot like we want to play against Feyenoord: 4-3-3, building up from the back, and putting pressure on them quickly. Again, I’m not trying to compare us to them.”
Overall, Slot has done a great job at Feyenoord over the last three seasons. He led the team to their first Eredivisie title in six years last season, and they won more hardware with the Dutch Cup last weekend.
But Jamie Carragher, a legendary Liverpool player, has doubts about Slot’s ability to play such a big part at a Premier League club that wants to compete with Manchester City.
He wrote in The Telegraph on Friday, “For the past nine years, Liverpool has had one of the top two managers in the world.” Nowadays, they’d rather hire the next big thing than the tried-and-true real deal.
“I would have given more thought to a coach like Thomas Tuchel, who went up against Pep Guardiola and beat him in the ultimate test: the Champions League final.” Tuchel did well after Klopp at Mainz and Borussia Dortmund. Munich hasn’t been able to make things work this season, but Carlo Ancelotti and Unai Emery show how great coaches can bounce back from losses.
“If another English club hires Tuchel, that would make me believe they will get a lot better, but I get the feeling Liverpool doesn’t want a coach who has a bad reputation for getting into fights.”
“I’d rather have a coach who has won before but might be hard to manage than one who doesn’t have much to prove but is easy to manage.”
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