Liverpool supporters already know John Heitinga for his time enjoying at Everton, however the 40-year-old is now a coach and has joined Arne Slot‘s Reds.
Seven years teaching at Ajax, rising by means of the youth ranks to develop into caretaker supervisor, led to Heitinga’s transfer to West Ham in 2023, the place he turned assistant supervisor.
With David Moyes leaving this summer time, although, Heitinga moved on too and is now becoming a member of Liverpool’s teaching employees as an assistant coach.
Right here, Dutch soccer journalist Elko Born (@Elko_B) discusses Heitinga, his teaching profession and what he can deliver to Slot’s employees.
What do you assume attracted Slot & Liverpool to Heitinga?
I feel it’s necessary that he’s nonetheless fairly younger, and that his enjoying years are nonetheless not that way back.
Clearly, he is aware of England and the Premier League from his expertise as a participant as effectively. I feel that’s very, crucial, his expertise in that regard. He is aware of town of Liverpool as effectively.
I do assume that it was perhaps not his tactical expertise as a coach that satisfied Slot to get him, however I do assume that Slot might be impressed by the way in which he is ready to discuss to gamers to construct relationships with them, to narrate to them.
He’s nonetheless fairly younger however I feel on a human stage, Heitinga is sort of gifted and it’s an necessary ability to have as a supervisor.
And that, mixed along with his expertise as a participant within the Premier League, I feel that’s a really worthwhile ability set to have on board at Liverpool.
How did he rise to develop into Ajax’s caretaker supervisor?
I feel on the time, as a senior participant he did take up a little bit of a management function within the Ajax squad round his remaining stretch at Ajax.
He began working within the Ajax youth academy fairly rapidly after retiring as a participant, so I feel that ambition has at all times been fairly apparent for him.
For a very long time, it seemed like he was going to develop into Ajax supervisor sometime ultimately, and clearly he was caretaker boss for a short while. However ultimately, it didn’t fairly work out for him the way in which he had hoped.
His stint as Ajax supervisor, as a caretaker, it wasn’t that unhealthy. He turned the caretaker boss in a horrible season for Ajax, one in every of their worst seasons ever.
When he got here in as caretaker, he did handle to deliver one thing again for the primary staff, get a couple of outcomes and regular the ship for Ajax that 12 months.
However ultimately, it wasn’t sufficient to persuade the Ajax management to maintain him on as first staff supervisor.
Might this then be a stepping stone prefer it was for Pep Lijnders?
I’m unsure but. It may very well be a stepping stone for him. He at all times wished to develop into Ajax supervisor however when he did develop into Ajax supervisor as a caretaker it didn’t work out as effectively for him as he had hoped.
It should have been such an enormous skilled disappointment for him. He hasn’t stated a lot about it, however I ponder how he feels personally now?
Does he really feel like, ‘OK, perhaps I’m too younger to be a primary staff supervisor, perhaps I want extra expertise as an assistant someplace earlier than taking over that senior management function in a membership?’
Or perhaps did he uncover for himself, if not for anybody else, that perhaps being the primary staff supervisor and the man in cost doesn’t swimsuit him as a lot as he would have preferred?
Perhaps he’s extra of a coach, and perhaps he must be an assistant someplace, maybe in Liverpool. And perhaps that’s only a job that fits his ability set higher.
What are a few of his traits as a coach?
I do assume he’s very energetic on the sidelines – he’s fairly a passionate man. He’s solely comparatively lately retired from soccer.
He’s nonetheless very a lot emotionally concerned with what his gamers are doing, which I feel can clearly be an excellent factor for a coach or a supervisor.
It’s a method that fits him, to be very concerned, to be emotionally concerned as effectively. I feel that’s his energy as a coach. I feel he’s superb at referring to gamers, at constructing relationships with the staff and a squad of gamers.
I feel the gamers at Ajax preferred him on a private stage very a lot, so this relationship aspect of teaching, I feel that’s the place his abilities actually lie and perhaps not within the extra tactical side of being a soccer supervisor.
Thanks once more to Elko Born for his perception on Heitinga’s teaching profession. You may observe Elko on X @Elko_B.
