Inever Manchester United Liverpool's clash with Chelsea is the focus of international attention, but on Sunday in Holland the interest will be higher than usual. In one dugout at Old Trafford: Erik ten Hag. In the other: Arne Slot. In his home country there is undisguised pride that two of the world's biggest clubs have put their destiny in the hands of Dutch coaches.
Marco van Basten captured the mood this week: “It will be a fantastic game, especially as Ten Hag has just lost,” said the former Dutch striker, referring to United. Defeat in injury time against Brighton Last Saturday. Can Slot, which has started with Two wins out of two At Liverpool, achieve something that Jürgen Klopp couldn't and beat a Ten Hag team at Old Trafford?
In 2015, four Dutch managers had… Premier League The Dutch coaches did not have what their German, Argentine and Spanish counterparts could offer.
Slot, who is about to turn 46, and Ten Hag, 54, are the new standard-bearers. In the Netherlands, Slot enjoys greater consideration and higher expectations, although Ten Hag has more trophiesTen Hag's first two seasons in England have been such. He won the Carabao Cup, the FA Cup and survived a change of ownership, but they were difficult campaigns, in which he finished third and eighth in the league. The fact that he is still at United, and still shaping the team and staff, is considered a surprise in his home country.
Ten Hag is not having the consistency or quality he achieved at Ajax, Utrecht and Go Ahead Eagles. “If you look at what he is allowed to invest, it is simply very bad,” said former Tottenham player turned commentator Rafael van der Vaart last season.
The fact that Ten Hag has signed many compatriots and acquaintances this summer is not considered a wise decision. Van Gaal did the same at Barcelona at the end of the last century and lost credit in the eyes of the public and the press. United's difficult circumstances and Ten Hag's achievements at Ajax, where his team humiliated Real Madrid and Juventus in the Champions League in 2019, fade into the background.
Former Dutch coach Co Adriaanse once said that in Holland coaches are considered like cars. It is forbidden to dent them, although a coach can learn to avoid the next dent from the first one. The Dutch want new, cool, scratch-free cars.
And Slot is that striking, undamaged car. He made Cambuur, AZ and Feyenoord perform much better, but also – and this is very important for Dutch football fans – he played attractive and energetic football.
The circumstances were not always easy. Slot joined Feyenoord in 2021 when the club was almost at its lowest ebb, both financially and sportingly, and Ajax, under Ten Hag, was on top of the world. But after three years with Slot in charge, Feyenoord had the edge over its arch-rival in almost every aspect.
Now Ten Hag has a problem. And there is another big difference between the two: their media appearances. Even in the Netherlands, Ten Hag had to struggle for a long time to appear relaxed in front of the camera. He could stumble over his words and quickly became defensive, looking everywhere but at the interviewer.
His English remains a work in progress. Slot walks around England as if he has been a coach there forever. In decent English, he explains his vision, offers clear and honest analysis and jokes not only with journalists but also with pundits such as Jamie Carragher, as if he had shared the Anfield pitch with him for years.
Slot, whose father was a teacher and is married to a teacher, is very clever with words and does not care about offending anyone. He will highlight his achievements in a more subtle way, hinting, for example, that Feyenoord have not been able to acquire experienced players in the way Ajax and PSV have.
Slot, like Ten Hag, grew up in rural eastern Netherlands, where loudmouths are not welcome. However, Ten Hag has been more direct in his statements to the media of late. “If they don't want me anymore, I'll go somewhere else to win trophies, because that's what I've done all my career,” he said after beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
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In an interview with Voetbal International, he also said that people in the Netherlands waxed “too lyrical” about Slot's Feyenoord last season. But there is no real rivalry or tension between the two.
“Both are pretty calm before the game because they have their plan in place,” says former Heerenveen coach Kees van Wonderen, who often crossed paths with Ten Hag and Slot. “But they are mindful of what might happen. Erik is perhaps a bit more pragmatic at the moment, adapting his team a bit more to the opponent. Arne is a bit more attached to sticking to the clean, attacking football that (Pep) Guardiola advocates, but he is always on the lookout for new trends. You saw a bit more of (Roberto) De Zerbi’s influence last season.”
Ramon Leeuwin, who played with Ten Hag at Utrecht and Slot at AZ, says: “I'm very enthusiastic about both of them as coaches and people, and I don't know any player who isn't. Arne is very charming from the first moment. He wins everyone over naturally – the media, the staff, the players. He's very clear, good and quick-witted.
“At first we had to get used to Erik. His way of training was very tactical and training was often interrupted; sometimes you felt like a PlayStation player. But when you feel that you are improving as a team and as an individual, that you are always very well prepared for the match, you start to believe in it. Also, Erik has a great sense of humour and is very loyal to the people.”
Former Feyenoord and Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk said in his column in De Telegraaf that he could already see the style Slot wants from Liverpool“Most coaches think they don’t have enough time to put their signature on a team, but that’s nonsense,” he wrote.
Of Ten Hag he said: “Against Brighton I saw far fewer things recognisable about the style of play he wanted. Ten Hag is more in a phase with United where the ball just falls well or it doesn’t. That’s not a solid foundation yet.”
In the same paper, former striker Wim Kieft said Slot had “better vision” than Ten Hag. “It is clear that he improves players,” he said, although he warned that Slot will soon see that “the pressure in England is much greater than in Holland.”
Ten Hag could tell his compatriot all this on Sunday.
