Arne Slot modelled his Feyenoord team on several principles that governed Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, giving an indication as to the style of play Reds fans can expect from the Dutchman.
Slot was the man chosen to succeed Klopp, who walked away last month after nine years at Anfield.
But, despite a lack of experience outside his native Netherlands, it is becoming apparent just how well suited the 45-year-old is to pick up exactly where Klopp left off.
Colorado Rapids midfielder Cole Bassett spent several months working with Slot in 2022 during a loan at Feyenoord and has lifted the lid on how much Klopp’s Liverpool influenced things there.
“[Slot] introduced quite a few things to me and made me understand football a lot better. I’ve seen little things his teams have done, and I know what it takes to play at a top level. The funny thing is, he used to show us clips of Liverpool all the time,” Bassett told the Mirror.
“Liverpool were the one team he used to emphasise to us that if we wanted to play at the top level, then this is what you had to do. And now he’s ended up there, so I think it’s pretty special for him.”
Among the clips the Feyenoord squad would get were players like Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz “sprinting back defensively”, with the message from the coach: “If you want to be at a top club, this is what you have to do…watch what they’re doing, and this is what I expect of you.”
In 2021, Slot told Dutch publication NOS that he considered the styles of Klopp and Pep Guardiola “beautiful examples…the goal is not to play offensively, but this is the way to win a lot of games.”