Dirk Kuyt is ideally placed to assess the merits of Feyenoord’s Arne Slot, the man Liverpool have identified as Jurgen Klopp’s potential successor.
A legendary figure at Feyenoord, Kuyt scored more than 100 goals across two spells at the club, and the former Liverpool forward has closely watched Slot’s three-year reign in Rotterdam. He gained a fascinating insight into Slot’s methods during a week spent behind the scenes shadowing him.
Slot has said it is “clear” he wants the Liverpool job and Kuyt, who has recently celebrated leading Beerschot to the Belgian second-division title, also knows how to succeed at Anfield.
Here, speaking to James Pearce, he explains what he learnt from Slot and why he thinks the Feyenoord manager has what it takes to fill Klopp’s shoes.
Feyenoord are my team in Holland. My son plays in the academy there so now and then myself and Arne have some contact.
It was around this time last year that he gave me the opportunity to spend a week with him, so I could watch how he goes about his job. It was a fascinating experience.
He’s a manager who likes to help younger coaches like me and it says a lot about the type of person he is that he’s willing to share his thoughts and vision so openly.
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The timing was perfect as it was just before Feyenoord became Dutch champions. Watching his training sessions was so interesting in terms of the drills and how he prepares his team.
Arne loves the game and thinks about football 24/7. That passion shines through when he speaks. He’s always studying other teams and thinking about how his team can improve and evolve.
Tactically, he’s very strong. What people like most in Holland, where his reputation is so high, is that he has his own vision, his style of play.
Nowadays managers always get compared. Is it the Jurgen Klopp style? Is it the Jose Mourinho style? Is it the Pep Guardiola style?
The answer is that Slot has his own style. He doesn’t copy anyone. He knows exactly what he wants and he believes in it. It’s attractive, attacking football. He likes to play an aggressive defence, high intensity, with the game played in the opponent’s half, but it’s his way. It’s different from Klopp but a lot of the principles are the same.
What struck me about Arne was his ability to make the players believe in what he believes in. I talked to some of them when I was there and they all spoke so highly about him. They love how he organises the training sessions and how he gets his ideas across. He’s an excellent communicator and man manager.
Watching Feyenoord in recent years, you can see his signature on the team in how he wants football to be played. Everyone bought into his vision. He gets the best out of people.
The job he took on after arriving from AZ Alkmaar in 2021 wasn’t an easy one. Some questioned whether he was the right man because he hadn’t previously trained a top Dutch team, but Feyenoord finished third and reached the final of the Europa Conference League, where they lost narrowly to Jose Mourinho’s Roma.
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Before his second season, he lost a lot of key players. Top scorer Luis Sinisterra was sold to Leeds United, Tyrell Malacia went to Manchester United, Marcos Senesi to Bournemouth and Fredrik Aursnes to Benfica.
Arne effectively had to build a new side. People doubted the new players who arrived and said he would need time to get things right, but he proved them wrong. Outperforming Ajax and PSV to become champions was unbelievable because nobody expected that at the start of the season.
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Before this season, he lost Orkun Kokcu to Benfica but they still won the KNVB Cup (Dutch FA Cup) and will finish second behind PSV, who have a really strong squad.
The news that Liverpool had decided to go for Slot came out of the blue. I was surprised because since Jurgen said he would be leaving at the end of the season, other names had been mentioned as possible contenders.
But it makes a lot of sense. I haven’t spoken to Arne but if everything is agreed, Liverpool have made a very good choice. It’s interesting for me as a Dutchman who is both a Feyenoord and Liverpool supporter. I’m a bit excited, to be honest.
He’s ready for the next step in his career. The doubters will say, ‘But Arne Slot has never trained a foreign team’, but we know how successful Jurgen proved to be and he hadn’t coached outside his homeland before he came to Liverpool.
Louis van Gaal once said, ‘When you’re ready, you’re ready.’ It doesn’t matter what age you are or how much experience you have — it’s about your qualities.
You can’t compare Feyenoord with Liverpool but Arne is used to dealing with pressure and high expectations. When he’s been faced with difficult situations, when results didn’t work out, when he was faced with difficult questions from the media, he always stayed in control and stuck to his principles and the vision of how he wanted to play. He never gave me a negative experience.
He’s had opportunities to move to the Premier League previously but he didn’t feel like those projects were right. He’s been waiting for the right step to take.
Arne wouldn’t go anywhere unless he really believed in the project. If he says ‘yes’ then it’s because he’s convinced he can do great things in the job he’s taking on. Arne is the type of guy who would say ‘no’ to any big club if he had any doubts.
Following in the footsteps of Jurgen isn’t easy but Arne will do it his own way and give everything to make the club successful. He’s determined and driven with a lot of self-belief.
His style of play is exactly what Liverpool supporters love to see at Anfield. He’s also good with the media because he explains himself very clearly. As Feyenoord have so many foreign players, he conducts his meetings in English so there will be no issues over language.
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At Feyenoord, he’s loved by the fans. They don’t want to lose him and it will be sad to see him leave — but from my perspective, if he has to go anywhere, I’m happy that it’s to Liverpool. He’s not only a very good manager, but also a very good human being.
(Top photos: Andrew Powell/Liverpool/ANP via Getty Images)