It was surprising when former Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp announced that he was going to step down as the club’s manager at the end of the 2023-24 season.
After nine years at Anfield, the German manager had decided to move into an executive role. However, the new role wouldn’t be at Liverpool but for Red Bull’s Football Division.
Nevertheless, there were multiple speculations about a new manager. From Ruben Amorim to Xabi Alonso, all the upcoming prospects were hailed to take over the reins at Anfield.
However, it was surprising when the name Arne Slot came around. Slot was at Feyenoord at the time and had helped the Dutch outfit win the Eredivisie and the KNVB Super Cup.
Being less known at the time, many pundits had their doubts regarding the viability and capabilities of the Dutchman. Surprisingly, the Dutchman did become the next Reds boss and also won the English Premier League in his first season.
It was an achievement no Liverpool manager has been able to reproduce. No Reds manager has previously won the English Premier League or any silverware for that matter in their first season.
It was even more surprising considering Slot’s first summer at Anfield. Having signed two, effectively only one player in Federico Chiesa, there were no big announcements but only quiet dominance through the season.
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Tom Werner claims Arne Slot was always the first choice
Liverpool chairman Tom Werner clears the air on Arne Slot’s selection (Credits: Imago Images)
The media highly underappreciated Arne Slot. However, Liverpool chairman Tom Werner claims that the Dutchman was always the first choice to succeed Jürgen Klopp.
“I want to give great credit to Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards because they identified Arne right away as their top choice. They were not trying to duplicate the extraordinary qualities of Jürgen.”
“They were looking for somebody who could bring their own ideas. There were a lot of similar ideas, the same kind of attacking ideas and strategy, but Arne was top of the list for all the reasons he demonstrated.”
“People say it was a surprise we won the league. We were all delighted, but we had great confidence, even in the first match, that he was the right guy to succeed Jürgen.”
“One of the things I’ve respected about Arne, and this is no disrespect to Jürgen, is that we have made a lot of tactical improvements in the second half, and his management has been outstanding. These players are playing twice a week, sometimes three times a week, and that management is also underappreciated also by the fans”, Werner told The Overlap US.
