Sport
Slot calls Guardiola his biggest coaching inspiration before Anfield clash
Arne Slot calls Pep Guardiola his greatest source of inspiration in coaching, before the Dutchman gets the chance to overthrow the great boss of Manchester City on Sunday.
The Liverpool head coach played as a midfielder for Sparta Rotterdam when Guardiola was manager of Barcelona, a team considered by many to be the best of the 21st century in European football.
But now he has the chance to move 11 points clear of Guardiola's City when the two teams meet at Anfield on Sunday. And he said: 'It's not about admiration, but there are few people in football who, when you look, never let you down.
'That was Lionel Messi, who is always a pleasure to watch. And nine times out of ten, (Guardiola's) Barcelona, Bayern Munich or City matches were a joy to watch for anyone who loves football. That's why I like watching his teams.
'He was the one who invented it – maybe not invented it, maybe it was done 100 years ago – or came up with the idea of inverted full-backs and then thought, 'Okay, now I'm going to push my centre-back back (John Stones) into the midfield”.
'You always see new things or inventions with him. They have a very good and clear playing style. Always an interesting game plan too.'
Slot watched as City imploded against his former club Feyenoord on Tuesday night, drawing 3-3 from a 3-0 lead, and the Dutchman has been in touch with former colleagues at the Rotterdam club.
“What made this match special for me was that I sat at home more, turned up the volume and heard the Feyenoord fans singing my name,” said Slot. 'That's the biggest compliment you can get when you leave a club, that the fans still like you.
'Of course, in the Netherlands and for me as a Feyenoord fan, I could hardly believe what I saw. At 3-1 you thought 'Okay…', but then City took control again. Then (clicks fingers) it was 3-2 and then 3-3! You don't see this often.
'I spoke to several people to congratulate them, but it was not in a tactical way. Without asking what they did, I can analyze that game myself. Don't take anything away from the result at all, but it was a dominant performance from City; on another day they would have won that match.”
