“Foundation for successful continuation”

Arne Slot leaves Feyenoord after this season and exchanges the Stadium Club for Liverpool FC. The coach, who was head coach of Feyenoord for the past three years, leaves a lot behind, he says Mikos Gouka. From staff turnover to a record amount: Arne Slot leaves these five things behind in Rotterdam.

1. Vacancies
Arne Slot exchanges Feyenoord for Liverpool, leaving the vacancy for head coach open. But the coach from Bergentheim is not just leaving for England; Sipke Hulshoff, Etiënne Reijnen and the Belgian ‘head of performance’ Ruben Peeters are also coming to Liverpool.

Nowadays it is increasingly common for a head coach to bring his own assistants, and there is now plenty of room for this at Feyenoord. In addition, a new ‘head of performance’ must be found, but the foundation of this department is solid. With Leigh Egger and Stijn Vandenbroucke, Feyenoord retains two important staff who do a lot of work behind the scenes.

2. Million dollar amount
Slot leaves for England for a record amount. The total cost for Liverpool to attract Slot, including Reijnen, Hulshoff and Peeters, will cost the English people’s club at least 13 million euros. It makes Slot the most expensive Dutch trainer ever. Moreover, it is also great for Feyenoord’s image.

3. Attraction
In recent years, Slot was seen to have increased the club’s appeal. Many football players wanted to play under his leadership, but many dropped out as soon as the salary came up. Feyenoord expects the departure of four or five basic players and without Slot on board it has not become easier to attract new reinforcements to Rotterdam.

4. Inferiority complex
Slot’s speech to the selection after the 2-3 victory over arch-rival Ajax went viral in England last week. Slot continuously spoke in perfect English: “This is a good win, but only one win. Our goal is bigger than winning here.” Even after the 6-0 victory, Slot was not in the lead. Under his leadership, Feyenoord had to become a club where such results are considered normal, just as European wintering is considered normal again in Rotterdam. The inferiority complex has disappeared under Slot.

5. Slotball
Arne Slot is known as a demanding coach. According to insiders, it would be an achievement if director Dennis te Kloese could find someone who possesses even half of Slot’s qualities. However, even after Slot, Feyenoord does not have to collapse. The professionalism surrounding the first team is impressive and will continue to be so. The youth department also continues to function unchanged; Slot never interfered with the affairs there.

Although the type of football he introduced will not immediately disappear, a new coach will undoubtedly add his own accents. For example, Feyenoord played on Thursday in Deventer against Go Ahead Eagles without Quilindschy Hartman, Mats Wieffer, Santiago Giménez, Igor Paixão and Calvin Stengs, but even with players like Antoni Milambo, Ayase Ueda and Luka Ivanusec, the playing style of building up and applying pressure remained the same.

Although the coach of the past three seasons will be greatly missed, the foundation for a successful continuation should now be in place.