Arne Slot: The First Interview

Are you ready? Yes,

first

of all, congratulations, welcome to Liverpool. Can you express to us? Can you tell us how you feel right now? I would say full of energy from the holidays. I really wanted to face the new challenge that lies ahead of us. I, of course, we're looking at the training round, which is fantastic, so there's a lot to look forward to from the team coming back in a few weeks and yeah, looking forward to a new start, after, after. A good period I had in Fine Arts Can we stop doing some housework? Because you've heard your name pronounced many different ways.

Let's fix that now. I've heard Anie Anna, how do you pronounce it correctly? I also heard Arie a few times when I played with Celtic Brandon Rogers. He sometimes called me Arie. I hear that name, but in Holland we would call me Arna, which is not easy to pronounce, so I hear AR. too but I would prefer AR, yes the scouters will probably call you all sorts of different names between now and then, yes as long as it's positive it will be positive how you talked a little bit there about how he spent that time between his last club and this one , there has been a bit of time between you being announced as Liverpool manager and now it was deliberate from your point of view.

I think it's for a few reasons,

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and foremost. Maybe the farewell to Urán, which was really special from what I saw, was the same day I left the fin too, but I saw some things and then there were even a few more farewells from what I saw, so I guess. It was fair for him, for the club and for the fans to wait a little bit and then come in, apart from that, I went on holiday, as you can probably see, and, yes, I think now is a good time. get here and talk to you and uh, but let's be clear that no, I'm not starting today.

I've already been in contact a lot with staff members, with people who are working here. the new members of staff who are arriving and of course, almost every day, Richard and I call each other because we need to talk. This is also a very important face for the new season to make sure the team is ready and. We have to plan the pre-season, so a lot of things have been done, but more in the background and now I am sitting here in front of you. I think it's a good time to do it now. I just gave you some reasons for how easy it is for you to tune out this really exciting period now that you've started, but you know that moment when you sit in a lounge chair and you're trying to think about what season it is.

It just happened, but I'm also looking forward to the years to come here in Liverpool. Are you someone who finds it easy to disconnect? weeks because I can remember a very nice time at my old club and I really want to go to a club like Liverpool, so there have been summers that have not been so good because that is also the life of a former football player and as a coach, but this summer was really nice in the fact that I left Finard in a good place and I come to a club that Uran left in a good place, so, yeah.

It's already been a good summer. Can we talk about Jurgen Klopp because you are replacing an iconic figure? And I think this has been an era in which everyone looked at the Barcelona team of Chavi Nesta and Messi, the rivalry that was between Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo was there and I think that when that came to an end, the new rivalry in European football came because Of course, he managed Liverpool and Pep Guardiola, of course, managed Manchester City and I think for everyone who loves football it was a fantastic time to see them both bring out the best in each other and, Yes, I have seen many things. of Liverpool games, a lot of city games too and when you live in Europe, the Premier League is probably the most beautiful league to follow, so yes, he has done a tremendous job here and I am very happy with that as a player. fan but now as his successor I think his successor we would say yes, uh uh, he left as I just said Liverpool in the best possible way, I think so, very good team, the fans are also very good, so I'm looking forward Was it important for you to talk to him?

We know you had a long-standing friendship with Pep Linders, but was it important that you spoke to Joga? Yes, I did the same with my old clubs when I started there. but I think if someone worked at a club for 9 years, I've been so successful, you want to know everything about them and you also want to know things about the players, although I think it's also important to know my own opinion on that, but all the staff stays here, so you can only use all this information that he has because he did very well, not only in terms of results, but also I think everyone saw it at his farewell. but also the years before, how popular he was and he gave me more than a few good advice, but I think what stood out for me was that he was so happy for me and that he had um and I think he said that in the media it would be too my biggest fan as of now because he supports Liverpool in the best way possible and you don't see this very often so it says a lot about his character and the way he handled this situation too.

Um, it's very important that you be your own man in all of this too, but we look at your style from what we've seen on TV. You know your passion for developing elite young players and there are also some similarities between you and him maybe I think so and I think that's also one of the reasons why I came in because I think they, in the same way that Liverpool me He explored. I don't think that's the right word, but I'm not sure. about that, but they weren't looking for exactly the same guy, but I think when something has been successful in a certain way of playing, you would like to extend this or continue with this and that's probably one of the reasons why they came to me too um yes, it's my style uh but I think it's the style of many modern coaches at the time of the guine club and um I think in a big club where I worked in the final it's also probably the only style, you can play to have the ball a lot and have a lot of energy and I think now there are also comparisons between the club that I have just left behind and the club that I am going to work for, which the fans now love to see.

Both fans love to see a team that wants do everything they can to win a game and, and if things get difficult, they try to do everything they can to change the game and I think Liverpool have done that many times and that's how it has been. done by my previous side is also better many times it is a big change but change is also exciting isn't it? uh it is uh you just said he's wearing a New Jersey um and of course there are changes but a lot of things are still the same too so I think the players are still the same which is probably the most important thing because at the Ultimately it all comes down to the players and I think the fans are still the same, so a lot of things are still the same.

Uh and um, yeah, we're going to try to work on what Juran left behind and we'll see a lot of the same things, but of course I also bring my own things to the table and I think that's also what's expected of To me, your title is officially head coach, what does that mean to you here at Liverpool? Yes, for me it is normal because that is how it is in Europe and in Holland. I don't think there's much change between a Head Coach or manager it's just about being a head coach. I can fully address the things that I would like to do, so work with the team, prepare the team in the best way possible and Richard and I are going to work together. when it comes to transfers, but not just the two of us, there's also a great backroom staff included and I think for me it's the way I've always worked and for me it's the ideal way to work because I can I can use most of my time working with the team and the time left will probably be a little bit for family and a little bit talking to Richard about how we can strengthen the team, but we've already done that.

A really strong team, so can you tell us a little bit about when Liverpool's interest became real for you and is there a chance you took the job and that moment when you decided this was the right move for you? I think those moments. They are always very private because no one needs to know, so the first time you hear that Liverpool is interested in you, you have to keep it between me and my wife. I always knew it had to be a fantastic club where I would leave the final 4 uh and this was Liverpool and the league too so I think it was a year ago.

I was also interested in some Premier League clubs, but decided to extend myself at Finor with the idea of ​​staying there twice. more seasons, but after a year, Li ipool appeared and then yes, as I just told you about the rivalry between City and Liverpool and many games that we as football fans watched, it was not a difficult decision to take, although I said I was very happy with the way I was able to work there with the fans, the staff and the players, but this was the chance I had to take. Can you tell us about yourself and then your style again?

I mentioned it before. We learn from what we see on TV, but how would you describe yourself as a head coach? the pillars of it. I think when I arrive in the first few days of the first week when I'm here, I'll be really focused on the training camps uh I think it's the place where you can influence the most uh and you have to influence the most because you have to influence your players that come to the G model and um and your game plan and I think that's where it's all at. I'm about to find a way to play that best suits players and then adjust it.

Maybe with plan C a little bit where we can win some things, but that's all tactical and I think there's something more to being a head coach or manager. you want to call it and that's the relationship you have with the people, the relationship I have with my staff, but also with the players, how they get along with each other and the relationship between the staff and the players, and I think this was one of the things I was looking for. from the outside where Yugen was excellent besides the style of play and um that is a challenge because I am 100% sure that many people who are still in this club still love him and we have to find a way for people to get used to it to me and the new staff that is coming in and getting the same energy in this building and eventually also in the stadium because that's where it's about we have to perform during the games, but to perform there.

I think it's important to have a good idea of ​​how we want to play and a good energy within the team and within the people who work at Liverpool. From what I have read, it also seems that you learn a lot of experiences from In other sports it is not just football that interests you, what you can learn as a coach from different things, yes, no, technically, of course, because they are different sports , but the way some sports are handled, the mental side of the game, can help. you and I sometimes use it in team meetings before a game so I try to use examples from cycling or um or right now I think we've seen Roland G Ro and we've seen jakovic win in a way it's really a game difficult and I think one of his qualities is that he can also win the game.

If he doesn't go his way, he can still find some way to win it and I think there are, those are examples that you can use with players as well. But let's be clear, we were mainly talking about football and it's not going to be a situation where players are going to listen to all kinds of other sports. Sometimes I use it, but only if I think it is necessary, we talk about the change. A moment ago, it's also a big change behind the scenes, you will bring with you your support staff, your coaches. Can you tell us a little about them, their personalities and what they will offer to this playing team and this fan base in Liverpool?

Like I just said, Yugan left the club in a really good place, he left the team in a really good place, I think we have a lot of quality and the way they played last season was already impressive, so come on, come on. To build from there, of course, you'll also want to take some people with you because they know who you are, they know your playing style and they can translate this to the other people on staff as well, but if you go to a club like Liverpool, you can assume, and I already realized, that there are a lot of good people working here too, so we are going to use the best of Hope The Best of Both Worlds to implement some of our things and use the knowledge that we have. is already in this within this club because of the nine years that Yugan and his staff worked here, yes, I bring uh s kulov, who has been my assistant for some years in fer.

I work with him longer. I have been working with him at Cen as for a long time. well, he was also Ron Kuman's assistant from the Dutch national team, but now he will join me from the beginning, a little older than me, I think not that much, but a little older than me, because we worked together for so long ago I think we both know exactly what we want when it comes to the style of play. And I think that helps, so we will bring in a performance coach who will also help me and the club.

Yes, how would I say this in English? With the way we are working on the physical side. and I think the three of us haveworked together in the final for three years and, yes, we know how we want to work, which is, of course, normal, and then there is a replacement in the goalkeeping corps and we also brought Fabián OT. Who is he? who was working on bisho Mission kbach and is still now with the US team at C America so those are the first spots we filled and I think we're still looking for one or two more spots and I just said at the Al beginning of the

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, Richard and I call each other a lot not only about this but also about the positions that we still have to fill, yes, and recruiting will be a big part of that, as well as it has been a part of those conversations. with Richard, yes, and it's also been part of my time in the last few weeks, so of course if you bring Fabian, who I didn't know before, you have conversations, meetings with him, along with Richard and um. to bring in the best possible person we could find and I believe that in Fabián's situation we will achieve that.

He is considered one of the most interesting goalkeeping coaches out there at the moment and in the meetings I felt this too, so there are still one or two positions to fill and we are talking about this, having meetings. About this, of course, it was also a team that finished with 82 points that you mentioned before. He stayed in a good place. So you must feel that you are in a good place to go again against this strong team, yes definitely, I think 82 points is a result of the style of play. Always the points you get are always a result of the way you play.

I have already seen a lot of games, I have also seen a lot of training sessions and of course the fans can watch the games so they know that we have very good players, but I have also seen a lot of training sessions and I think this is where you bring the culture , and they were always working hard as a fany during the game and, really, a good team, very good players, they managed to be on top for a long time, but I think in the end we would all make it. I love seeing Liverpool a little bit higher than third place and this is the challenge we face now to take advantage of what we have and hopefully I have every confidence in this thanks to the players that we can, that we can. add in some things where we can hopefully get a bit more points than the 82, which is necessary with the likes of Arsenal and City to finish hopefully a bit higher than what we did this season.

It's fascinating to hear him talk about not only the The fact that you watch a lot of the games, but you even go back and watch the training sessions to know that you delve into the story of what last season looked behind the scenes, yeah, there are two things What should you do. Do this, of course, to get to know the players more because most of the time you see them during games and you also want to know what the culture is, how they train and what they're used to, and I think it's always interesting if you are. the successor of the yugan club and this situ and also the papan lers who worked quite a bit on the training ground to see what their ideas were on the training ground and um I think a lot of successful coaches have said this, they all try to steal some to others and mainly this is done by watching the games but if you can see the way they train that can only help you but one thing must be clear that the players will not get all the same exercises again we will implement our own things, but it's interesting to see what they did during the week as well.

What has this period been like for you as a boss in terms of how you talk to the players? Does he leave them to their international duties? right now or have you contacted any of them to see how they are doing? I think I contacted some of them after Urán left because I thought it was very important to be fair. Uran and be fair to the players because they had to finish the season and I don't think I would be very happy if my successor had called the players before I left the club, so I think it is normal to start. with the captain, which was Virgil, which was easy for me because we could speak Dutch and from then on I called a few others, but not many because I think they are all, most of them are with uh in preparation. or at the moment playing in the Eurocup and the others, some others are in the preparation of the Copa América, so I think yes, the best way is to keep a certain distance but also be interested in them and hope that happens .

Most of them, especially the Dutch, will stay away as long as possible to get to the final and then I can meet them and I think it's a better way to get to know each other than on the phone or over the phone. uh, Zoom meetings about the schedules for the newly released new season. I think there are seven weeks until everything starts, which will happen very quickly in that period. So what are your priorities in the next seven weeks? I think it's about the preseason. getting the players to adjust and getting your game idea, your game model into the players and so we have quite a bit of training time with some of them and it depends on how far the players go in the tournaments that they are playing.

How long do they do it? It is working with these players, but as you already mentioned, the style of play will not be completely different, but it would be strange if we did exactly similar things because I am not a, although I am the replacement for the Yurgen club. I'm not exactly similar to him, so we try with the players who come in at the beginning, which are already quite a few. We implement our football idea as soon as we can and when the rest comes a little later. Hopefully those who are already there can help us by playing as part of the coaching staff's training so they know what to expect and then it will probably go as quickly as possible because we have to be ready for the first game.

If you change and before the US tour comes you will lead your team in The Dugout for the first time in Pittsburgh you must be excited about that yeah I think it's always special to have your games if it's in the US From what I was told, the stadiums were pretty full or completely full. That's a special way to start your career at Liverpool, but especially if you go to a new club, the first time is always special. The first time you get here. The first training session, the first time I coach a session and the first time I coach a game will be special, but of course what I'm most looking forward to is coaching a game at Anfield and, um, but we have to wait a shortly before that happens.

We talked a little bit about Fin or at the beginning, you must be in a wonderful place mentally now to have left them among Europe's Elite again. It's probably always quite sad to leave a club where you have such an important part in your life, although yes, I think it was during In the

interview

I said that last season I also had the opportunity to go to the Premier League. I decided to stay because I felt like things weren't done yet. When I started there, the club was in a pretty difficult place. I did not do it. a lot of money finished fifth, I think we could change that and now with two consecutive Champions League seasons winning the title and winning the cup, I think the value that the team has now has been completely different than three years ago.

I think it's fair to say that I left the final among the good players and I have every confidence that the new head coach there will also do a great job there because he is inheriting a good culture. And it is also a very good team. Just that thought of being at Anfield for the first competitive game, is there something in your mind that thinks it's going to be such a special day for you as Liverpool manager, yeah? I think every new club you go to and it's your first home game is special. I remember it was special at Fino and I hope it's really special here at Liverpool too, but like I said, the first thing I'm going to see is the first training session we have and then all the sessions that come after and the games we'll play and what we've got. which is very serious to be the best team possible.

We can be at the first game on ipswitch and the second game at home against BR Brenford and they sing You'll Never Walk Alone like they do well. I think I've already said that there are some similarities between Finer and Liverpool um uh. They're our two cities along the river, so people work in the ducks, ducks, I think the English word for that, yeah, it's the working class, the fans that appreciate watching the team and I think these clubs they like fer. And liver proof, from what I saw, means a little more to the fans, it means a little more, if the team does well than in other places in the world, and this is what I felt when I found out. and I hope to feel the same here at nfield too, yeah, and we're also looking forward to it, one last job, hopefully, for you and that's your camera, seems like a good way to end if there's a message from you to the fans, so who talks to them directly.

You surprised me a little with this one. um no, I think like you said, there's a change uh and um, but I hope the change is. It's not that big because we still have the same players, we still have the same fans and if they're both going to do the same job, that's going to make my life a lot easier, so I hope they show up again. next season and the same for the players and I will do everything in my interest and power to lead the team in the best way possible good luck we look forward to it thank you for spending some time with us thank you like well oh