Jurgen Klopp has run out of strength, and another Jurgen Klopp does not exist. Xabi Alonso was the next best option, but since he didn’t want to come to Anfield, Liverpool decided to accept the advice of a – physicist.The Reds decided to hire a doctor of physics from Harvard. William Spearman, the creator of the analytical system that helped the management a lot in the selection of the new coach of the Reds. It is important to emphasize that no club has used this much mathematics when choosing the head of the coaching staff. Spearman worked on the CERN project where the world’s best physicists worked on the Higgs boson particle.According to his calculations, current Feyenoord coach Arne Slot is the best choice for Klopp’s successor on the Liverpool bench.The unexpected departure of the German coach from Anfield caused a proper earthquake because he is leaving the club after a full nine years and eight trophies won. Midway through the season, the Reds were in contention for all four of the season’s trophies, and the club’s management had six months to revamp both the playing staff and the sporting structure that Klopp has dominated for the last decade.Jurgen Klopp:“When you win one time with Liverpool, it is as worth as winning five times with another club.” ❤️ pic.twitter.com/1hEYyzsUDp— Anfield Sector (@AnfieldSector) May 8, 2024 Liverpool first brought back Michael Edwards, the sporting director with whom Klopp won the Premier League after thirty years. Also, Richard Hughes, who is in charge with Edwards of finding a new coach for a big English club, also arrived.The key to finding a new Liverpool manager was to assess which expert would be the best fit for the Reds. From the start, since there is no Klopp clone, they were looking for a young and promising coach who is ready to take over a bigger club and take a big step in his coaching career.It is clear that Liverpool first looked at former playing legend Xabi Alonso, but he chose to stay at Bayer Leverkusen, with whom he won the historic Bundesliga. Sporting’s Ruben Amorim dropped out due to an exit clause of 20,000,000 euros, but not only that. At Anfield, they were aware that a possible cooperation with Amorim would bring with it a complete playing reconstruction of the team. In other words, Liverpool would have to make a serious “overhaul” of the team in the summer in order to assemble a team to Amorim’s liking. The management of Liverpool gave up on the idea of De Zerbi after some time.That’s why the management turned all eyes on Slot. Instead of looking for a coach with a catchy name, they opted for a name that some of their fans may have never heard of. The current Feyenoord coach has only six Champions League games, while his biggest success is winning the Dutch championship. By the time Klopp took over Liverpool, he had Bundesliga titles and a Champions League final.##EDITORS_CHOICE##But Arne Slot’s style of play is most similar to that enforced by Klopp.Liverpool wanted to find a manager who would fit into their decision-making structure. He will be “only” the head coach and not a traditional manager.What plays out for the Dutchman is the currently dominant tactical style at the highest level of the sport, which is defined by one word – control. Also, the priority is to bring in a coach who will make the most of the current squad and experts say that Slot will not change much. He has his own style, he doesn’t copy anyone and his football is attractive and attacking. It is different from its predecessor but its principles are very similar.Liverpool press more aggressively and effectively than anyone else in the Premier League. In other words, they are aggressive without the ball, allow few passes and have a high percentage of possession per game, and Slot’s Feyenoord play something similar.Liverpool have an average of 94 possessions per game, Feyenoord 96. Liverpool’s average pass crosses 17.1 meters, and Feyenoord’s 17.2 meters. Liverpool move the ball up the field at an above-average speed of 1.26 meters per second, while Feyenoord go even faster at 1.33 meters per second.##NAJAVA_MECA_8088244##Feyenoord is the third richest team in the Dutch championship, the salaries of their players amounted to 48.2 million euros. Twice less than Ajax, which have a record 109.4 million, but also less than the champion PSV, which pay 55.2 million euros.No one disputes the fact that Slot is a very good coach, but the jump from Feyenoord to Liverpool is as huge as the jump from the Dutch championship to the Premier League. The defense that Slot’s team will have to break down in England will be far more organized and far more talented than what he has usually faced in his coaching career. There are not many coaches who have managed to achieve some big results in the “top five” leagues that came from the Dutch championship. The biggest example is Erik ten Hag, who cannot stabilize Manchester United, but the same applies to Ronald Koeman, Peter Bosch… All this is not to doubt the coach of Feyenoord, but it should be taken with a grain of salt as to how good he will be in one of the best leagues in the world.
