THE HAGUE: Feyenoord coach Arne Slot confirmed on Friday that he would be replacing Jurgen Klopp as manager of Liverpool next season.
“There hasn’t be an official announcement yet — but I don’t think it will come as news to you that I will be coach there next season,” Slot told reporters.
The BBC said last month that Slot’s deal to replace Klopp was worth up to £9.4 million (10.9 million euros).
“The feeling that I’m leaving here is getting stronger. There are some people you don’t simply just want to shake hands with,” Slot said ahead of his last game at the club.
“At those times, it’s not about whether you have become a champion or won the cup, but more about the appreciation between people,” he added.
Slot moved to Feyenoord in 2021 after impressing in his first managerial role at AZ Alkmaar.
He led the Dutch giants to the inaugural Europa Conference League final at the end of his first season, in which they narrowly lost 1-0 to Jose Mourinho’s Roma.
Slot then delivered just a second league title in 24 years to De Kuip last season before penning a new three-year deal.
“You can see people are genuinely sorry you are leaving,” he said.
“You can say that with words, but when you see it in people’s faces, it affects me quite a lot.”
The Feyenoord club website said a farewell party was being organized at the raucous De Kuip stadium after Slot’s final game, against Excelsior.
Feyenoord have enjoyed a strong season, winning the Dutch Cup and coming second to an all-conquering PSV Eindhoven side with one game remaining.
But Slot has only lost two league games all season and noted: “If we win (on Sunday), we will have 84 points and we will be the second best Feyenoord team in club history.”
Under Slot, Feyenoord have delighted the fans in De Kuip with an attacking brand of football and the 45-year-old won praise from Klopp himself.
“I like the way his team plays football. If he is the one, I like that he wants it,” Klopp told reporters last month.
“It’s the best job in the world, best club in the world. Great job, great team, fantastic people. A really interesting job,” said Klopp.
Liverpool captain and fellow Dutchman Virgil van Dijk has also hailed Slot’s attacking mindset, saying it would suit the philosophy at Anfield.
“I think the way of playing and the philosophy he has, that he could be a Liverpool coach,” said Van Dijk.
A fan of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, Slot was a slick forward as a player with a reputation as an accurate passer of the ball — so much so he has a move named after him.
The Arne Slot Pass is a slight deflection from a forward with his back to goal which splits the defense and releases a winger running off the ball.
Klopp will step down as Liverpool manager at the end of this season after a nine-year reign which brought the Champions League title in 2019 and Premier League trophy a year later.
Initially, Bayer Leverkusen boss and former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso had been the favorite to succeed Klopp.
However, Alonso has committed to staying at Leverkusen after leading them to a first-ever Bundesliga title.
Slot confirms he will replace Klopp as Liverpool manager
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Slot confirms he will replace Klopp as Liverpool manager
- “There hasn’t be an official announcement yet — but I don’t think it will come as news to you that I will be coach there next season,” Slot told reporters.
- The BBC said last month that Slot’s deal to replace Klopp was worth up to £9.4 million
Rodrygo’s winner lifts Real Madrid past Alaves to end losing streak
- The victory keeps Real second in the standings on 39 points, four adrift of Barcelona, while Alaves are 12th on 18 points
VITORIA-GASTEIZ, Spain: Rodrygo secured Real Madrid a crucial 2-1 victory over Deportivo Alaves on Sunday in LaLiga, ending a dismal run of form and keeping them within four points of leaders Barcelona.
Real, under pressure after two straight losses in all competitions, broke the deadlock through Kylian Mbappe’s stunning first-half strike.
However, a resilient Alaves levelled in the 68th minute through Carlos Vicente. The visitors restored their lead eight minutes later, courtesy of a counter-attack led by Vinicius Jr, whose assist was converted by Rodrygo.
The victory keeps Real second in the standings on 39 points, four adrift of Barcelona, while Alaves are 12th on 18 points.
The narrow triumph in the Basque Country provided manager Xabi Alonso with much-needed breathing space after a run of two wins from their previous eight matches across all competitions.
Sunday’s victory demonstrated Real’s resilience and ongoing weaknesses. Despite taking a 24th-minute lead through Mbappe’s spectacular strike, they found themselves outplayed by an Alaves side roared on by a sold-out Mendizorrotza stadium.
Mbappe had opened the scoring in trademark fashion after Jude Bellingham threaded a long pass to the French forward, who ran down the left channel before cutting inside and unleashing a bullet strike into the top corner from the edge of the box.
Despite Real’s early lead, Alaves grew dominant as the first half progressed. The hosts pressured Real’s makeshift defense, which featured 19-year-old academy graduate Victor Valdepenas in his senior debut at left back.
Alaves’ pressure was eventually rewarded in the 68th minute when substitute Vicente, introduced moments earlier, latched onto Antonio Blanco’s long ball and surged past Real’s high defensive line to finish into the top corner.
Initially flagged offside, Vicente’s goal was awarded after a VAR review confirmed the forward had timed his run perfectly.
Real’s winner came as Vinicius wrestled past a defender on the left flank before driving into the penalty area and delivering a low cross, finding Rodrygo, who slid in to steer the ball home from close range.
“It was a tough, very competitive match,” Alonso told a press conference.
“We started well and took the lead, but then we lost control and, as a result, we didn’t finish well. We had chances in the second half, but we conceded from the only mistake Valdepenas made and Carlos Vicente took advantage of that, after a great pass.
“But the team continued to fight hard, battling it out in a difficult stadium against a very intense opponent. That second goal gave us the three points and we’re leaving here very happy.”
