Jurgen Klopp ended his tenure in charge at Anfield at the end of the 2023/24 season, having established a long-term regime that began in 2015, winning a string of major titles in the Premier League, Champions League, League Cup and FA Cup.
Arne Slot has been tipped to replace the German manager who has made Liverpool’s history, and the 45-year-old Dutchman has kept a clean sheet in the season opener against Ipswich and the home opener against Brentford to secure the whitewash.
With EURO 2024 and Copa America taking place this summer, it has been a difficult start for the new manager. Nevertheless, former Liverpool manager Klopp, who had been following the game since pre-season, raised hopes for the team under Slot, who took over from him.
“We spoke one or two times [at the start].”
“I think we texted a few more times but there is nothing I can tell him what he couldn’t know himself.”
“Right now from my side, just to give positive feedback in the beginning because we are all human beings and he worked his socks off.”
“I know that because the tour is super intense in a year when you have Euros and Copa (America), you don’t have the team together, but they come, you have one week until the first matchday and stuff like that.”
“So I think he had a similar situation, but exactly the same situation? Definitely not.”
“When I saw the games, that’s why I watched it, not to think, oh, how does it look? The work he did was obvious, the ideas obvious and that’s the best you can say about the coach.”
“I liked his football a lot he played with Rotterdam (Feyenoord), so that’s really good.”
“I saw now the Sevilla game, the pre-season friendly. Big parts of it were really good and the league game, the second half was obviously really good.”
“But it’s not important that I like it, it’s just you can see he is a very good coach and the team, I know now better than most, is a really good squad, is a really good team. So it will work out really well.”
“I want him to do well, I want the club to do well. I want the players to do well.”
ESPN
When Jurgen Klopp announced his retirement midway through last season, the names of various leaders emerged and disappeared in the search for his successor.
Among them, Xabi Alonso and Ruben Amorim were reported in the media on a daily basis.
In the end, it all settled down to the current form, but the German mastermind revealed that he had no involvement in the coaching appointments and was relieved to have signed Arne Slot, a proven coach at Feyenoord, to replace him, which had been his biggest concern.
“I was not involved in anything, it should not be like that. I’m not like this kind of guy in the background still having some strings and stuff like this.”
“I don’t want that, the club is too big, too good. The people are too good.”
“A lot of things changed since we left but the only concern for me was, will they get a good coach?”
“That’s a very big part of the decision and Liverpool was early and Liverpool got a top, top, top solution in Arne Slot.”
ESPN