Arne Slot has been backed to trump one in every of Liverpool’s largest rivals throughout his first season at Anfield.
The 45-year-old has taken on the duty of changing the enduring Jurgen Klopp within the Reds’ dugout, and he’ll want to provide heroics in an effort to even come near matching his predecessor’s legacy.
Nevertheless, Dutch soccer pundit Marcel van der Kraan is assured that the ex-Feyenoord boss will outperform compatriot Erik ten Hag at Manchester United over the subsequent 12 months.
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Talking on talkSPORT, he mentioned of Slot: “He’s received very recent concepts and perhaps even excels Ten Hag in his concepts of attacking soccer. He’s nearer in his pondering to Pep [Guardiola]. I’m not saying he’s on the identical degree; I don’t need Liverpool followers to assume, ‘Oh Marcel’s telling us we’re getting Pep 2.0.’
“However I’ve by no means seen a recreation of him the place he performed one minute of defensive soccer, or the place he needed his staff to defend one thing. It’s truly been thoughts blowing what he’s performed in Holland. I’m not saying that he might be in England however in Holland, he’s probably the most entertaining coach I’ve seen over the past 35 years.”
When requested if Liverpool’s new head coach might be extra profitable than Ten Hag subsequent season, Van der Kraan immediately replied: “Sure.”
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On the face of it, Liverpool ending 22 factors and 5 locations forward of United final season would counsel that Slot ought to comfortably get the higher of Ten Hag subsequent time period.
Nevertheless, the roles had been reversed 12 months in the past after a wretched 2022/23 marketing campaign at Anfield, and the way the Reds will deal with Klopp’s departure stays to be seen.
That mentioned, Van der Kraan is completely satisfied in regards to the 45-year-old’s skill to thrive on Merseyside right away; and his proclamation that the coach invariably favours an enterprising model of soccer might rapidly endear him to the Kop, as long as it’s not on the expense of defensive solidity.
If Slot can end above United in his debut season at Liverpool and entertain the followers within the course of, that’d clearly go down very nicely, although the minimal goal is to retain our Champions League standing and hopefully problem for main trophies (presumably profitable a cup or two).
For all the issues he’s confronted at Previous Trafford over the previous two years, Ten Hag has nonetheless gained a trophy in each campaigns. Let’s hope his compatriot can observe swimsuit in that regard, whereas crucially preserving the Reds difficult close to the highest of the desk.
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