Arne Slot has admitted that he has been “inspired” by one figure at Manchester City for years.
The Dutchman has replaced Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool — who spent nine years at the club.
The 45-year-old has one of the toughest jobs in football — succeeding one of the best managers in the world at the club his career has been defined by.
Known for playing a possession-dominant style of football, Arne Slot has often been compared to Pep Guardiola — as several up-and-coming coaches tend to be.
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Arne Slot makes fresh revelation about his feelings for Pep Guardiola
In April, it was revealed that in one of his first team meetings at Feyenoord, Slot referenced Manchester City’s 1-0 defeat to Chelsea in the 2021 Champions League — discussing how both teams’ defensive work led to a few chances in the game.
Considering the Catalan tactician’s brand of football is influenced by Johan Cruyff, several Dutch coaches have blended both legendary managers’ philosophies into their teams.
At Ajax, the same could be said about Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag.
Speaking to Liverpool’s in-house media, Arne Slot discussed that ever since the rivalry between Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp, he has been inspired by both managers. Considering Guardiola and Klopp’s first emerged in the 2018/2019 campaign, Slot has been influenced by the Spaniard for a few years.
Slot said: “Yeah, it is my style but I think it is the style of many modern coaches at the moment: we were all a bit inspired because of the rivalry between City and Liverpool. We were all inspired by [Pep] Guardiola and [Jurgen] Klopp and I think at a big club, which I worked in in Feyenoord as well, it is probably the only style you can play, to have the ball a lot, to have a lot of energy and I think also now there are comparisons between the club I left behind and the club I am going to work for now.”
“Both [sets of] fans love to see a team that wants to do everything to win a game and if things are tough they try to do everything to turn the game around and I think that has been done by Liverpool many times and I think that has been done by my former side Feyenoord many times as well.”
Pep Guardiola continues to inspire managers from across the world like Arne Slot
Despite having been a first-team manager since 2008, Pep Guardiola is continuing to inspire other coaches, including Arne Slot now.
Regardless of Manchester City and Liverpool’s rivalry over the past few years, Slot could not hide his admiration for Guardiola as a student of the game.
Such is the influence that the £378,846-a-week man has had on the managerial landscape.
Guardiola would likely be touched by Slot’s kind words in his latest interview.
But as soon as the 2024/2025 season begins, a natural-born competitor like the two-time treble-winner will be determined to outthink and outclass the former Feyenoord boss.