How the aura of Klopp has left Slot trapped in a new Liverpool reality | OneFootball

Arne Slot could have reasons to enjoy comparisons with the distinguished figures who came before him. Even with his side languishing in sixth in the Premier League, he still has the highest win percentage of any Liverpool manager. Unlike Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley and Jurgen Klopp, to name but three, he claimed the league title in his first season at Anfield. Unlike Rafa Benitez or Gerard Houllier, he has won it at some point in his tenure.

And yet Slot can feel trapped between the reality of his immediate predecessor and the idea of his possible successor. Some Liverpool fans can be seduced by the thought of Xabi Alonso. All will have fond memories of Klopp. Is it a problem for Slot? Not for him; perhaps not for his employers, though the ultimate measure will be whether the Dutchman is still in charge next season.

But an outsider whose allegiances lie with both Everton and Manchester United said Slot lacked both the aura of Klopp and the aura required of a Liverpool manager. Wayne Rooney’s own managerial career could have offered Slot the scope to retort with references to wretched spells at Birmingham and Plymouth, but a reasonable man instead offered a considered answer.

"Comparing people with each other is something everyone has the right to do, but is it fair to compare people with each other? We are all different,” Slot said. “The only thing we have in common, Jurgen and me, is that we both won the league, and that’s not too bad, is it?

“I think the more a manager wins, the more aura he has. I don’t know if this would be the general opinion, then I think people would probably tell you last season I had more aura than this season.”

That was self-deprecating and Slot is conscious that there is a group of managers who have won the World Cup or the Champions League and have a special status. Klopp reached four finals, three of them with Liverpool, making them European champions in 2019. It is a reason why it is not as simple as saying that Slot has won the Premier League as many times as the German.

Equally, with Klopp it was never just about the win percentage or the medal collection. “I think it’s fair to say that Jurgen definitely has aura, yeah,” said Slot. “I can talk about him, not about myself.”

open image in gallery

Slot has spoken about the aura surrounding Liverpool managers (Reuters)

Klopp, along with Shankly, ranks as the most charismatic figure in Liverpool’s history. It was how each galvanised a club. Klopp wielded wit, a capacity to conjure a memorable phrase, and a rare ability to carry people with him, whatever he said and did. Physically huge, he has a force of personality that made him the face of Liverpool more than anyone since Shankly. His brand of charismatic leadership might have equipped him to make a mark in many another field. Slot is a football coach, one who initially prospered with the team Klopp left.

Slot has not tried to be Klopp. Before his first game at Anfield, he insisted there would be none of his predecessor’s trademark fist-pump celebrations. He is less quotable, a man who does not discuss certain topics, who can stick to stock answers on others. He is normally good humoured; a theme in his praise of players can be a wish for them to improve again, whereas, in public, Klopp would often eulogise them, sometimes in exaggerated or entertaining fashion.

open image in gallery

Jurgen Klopp retains an aura around Anfield due to his legacy (AP)

Slot’s name has been sung at Anfield, and there are banners about him. Yet online, anyway, some fans have turned against him. He may be more dependent on results to retain support, and Real Madrid’s decision to sack Alonso provided a possible king over the water. For eight-and-a-half years, few Liverpool supporters contemplated regime change.

But it is worth noting that no Borussia Dortmund manager in the last 11 years – not even Thomas Tuchel, hugely talented a tactician as he is, or Edin Terzic, the lifelong fan who took them to the Champions League final – has had the popularity of Klopp. Perhaps that renders any comparison with him unfair.

Alonso, meanwhile, won a Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen in extraordinary, unbeaten fashion, but has twice visited Anfield as a manager, losing 4-0 to Slot last season and 1-0 to him this season.

open image in gallery

Some Liverpool fans are intrigued by the idea of Xabi Alonso returning to Anfield as manager (AP)

The latter came during a run of 12 games when Liverpool lost nine. It did not prompt them to sack Slot then. Now they have only lost two of the subsequent 19. That run has nevertheless been mixed, as Liverpool’s league position shows. They visit Nottingham Forest on Sunday and, asked if their 3-0 defeat to a side then managed by Sean Dyche was the low point of the season, Slot instead nominated five other games, two of them drawn. As he noted, there have been quite a few lows.

His season has scarcely been straightforward but, unlike Alonso, he has survived. The chances are that many of the Liverpool fans who hope for Alonso’s return in the dugout remember the cerebral, stylish midfielder and have seen rather less of the sides he has managed. They have witnessed Slot’s side, improving but imperfect. They have their history with Klopp. Slot doesn’t have an aura quite like Klopp’s. But then again, neither does anyone else.