Rousing the Kop speaks exclusively to former AZ Alkmaar and Ajax coach, Julian Jenner, who was teammates with Arne Slot.
Even twenty years ago, Julian Jenner always knew Arne Slot was going to become a coach. Back then Jenner and Slot were teammates at NAC Breda, and Jenner remembers him as a player always curious about the game.
“He was a personality,” Jenner recalls.
“He was always in discussion about why we do this, why I have to play like this. And he was very interested already [in tactics].
“He was constantly busy with, with tactics, with exercises. That is Arne, you know. He wants to develop himself so bad, so good. And he has an ambition.”
Why Arne Slot was similar to Sergio Busquets as a player
In his heyday, Slot was a midfielder, who played in the top flight of Dutch football. Jenner remembers an intelligent player on the pitch.
“His biggest strength for me was his unbelievable technique, so technical. He was very, very good. He saw already two or three steps before he wants to do something.
“He was not fast. Because he was very slow. But he always found the right moment and to recognise where he has to be and that’s the big strength of him.
“With him, he makes your team better in possession.”
Jenner also compares Slot in his prime to a player like Sergio Busquets.
“He was a very underestimated player because he was not fast, you know, and if you want to compare somebody on the top, he was like Busquets. He was something like that. He was a little faster than Busquets. But he was similar.”
What is Arne Slot like as a manager?
After hanging up his boots, Jenner went into coaching and briefly worked at AZ Alkmaar while Arne Slot was the club’s assistant manager.
During his time at the club, he observed Arne in action as a manager and was impressed by what he saw.
“I started to watch his trainings and his trainings are based on a lot of possession game but with very, very high intensity but always with thought. That, I think that makes him exceptional. He loves creativity, and he loves attacking football.
“I remember that before he went to AZ, he went always to different clubs in different countries to watch training sessions.”
According to Jenner, Slot’s playing style closely resembles Pep Guardiola rather than Jurgen Klopp.
“He is similar to Guardiola. Klopp is power play, gegenpressing to get the ball as fast as possible. But with Arne it’s more high-speed ball possession, quickly go to the goal, and he’s also not shy to defend, so he knows when we are ahead, we are on the pressure and he is not afraid to change things.
“He can feel the moment when he has to change [things] in games and he can read the game. He’s not shy to make good decisions or brave decisions. That’s a gift. Not a lot of coaches have that.”
Why Arne Slot is the ‘perfect’ successor to Klopp
Having observed Slot both as a teammate and as a coach at first-hand, Jenner believes Liverpool could be the perfect next step for the 45-year-old coach.
“I believe if he makes a step that it will be a very good step for Liverpool as well.
“After a decade with Klopp he is for me the perfect follow-up coach. I think he can give even more flair to Liverpool. You know what Manchester United had in the past.
“I believe when Arne goes there [Liverpool] with that kind of style of play. In that public, in my eyes, they will be unbeatable.”