RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Arne Slot addresses ‘incorrect’ reports as he turns down the chance to emulate Jurgen Klopp
Arne Slot has sought to clear up ‘incorrect’ reporting regarding his reasons for turning down the opportunity to potentially become Netherlands’ next head coach.
Shortly after his exit from Liverpool at the end of May, the 47-year-old was touted as a viable candidate to take charge of the Oranje after Ronald Koeman, who stepped down after their round-of-32 elimination at the World Cup.
Jurgen Klopp, Slot’s predecessor in the Anfield dugout, was named as the new head coach of Germany last month, but the latter has explained why he chose not to emulate the 59-year-old by taking charge of his country after his stint with the Reds.
Slot clarifies ‘incorrect’ reports about Netherlands job
Slot insisted that reports of him turning down the Netherlands job because of contractual disagreements were wide of the mark and that he’s instead holding out for another role in club football.
He explained (via Voetbal International ): “Over the past few weeks, and particularly the past few days, various reports have appeared regarding the vacancy at the Dutch national team, suggesting that I had withdrawn from the process after lengthy negotiations, including regarding salary and contract duration.
“That speculation is incorrect. We simply never reached that stage of the talks. At this stage of my career, I prefer to see myself on the training pitch with my players every day, something that is simply not possible in the same way with a national team and why I chose not to continue the talks and not to start negotiations on what a possible contract might look like.
“I have enormous respect for the national team and for the KNVB and can only be positive about the professional manner in which the talks proceeded that week. For now, I believe that club football still has a lot to offer me.
“It would be a great honour to represent my country as national coach one day. However, this was not the right moment for me.”
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Where will Slot end up next?
With Slot declining the opportunity to pursue the national team role, it means that we won’t get to see a head-to-head between Andoni Iraola’s two immediate predecessors at Liverpool when Netherlands and Germany face each other twice in the UEFA Nations League in the autumn.
He and Klopp are at different phases of their respective careers – the Dutchman is still relatively young as coaches go and clearly still craving that daily interaction with players, while the German is content to take a less ‘busy’ role with his country after more than two decades of relentless club management.
Slot’s time at Anfield may have ended on a low ebb , but having won league titles in England and Netherlands, he can rightly feel confident of earning a crack at a new club job in the next few months, especially once anxious chairmen pull the trigger during the season if they feel a change is needed.
With the 47-year-old walking away from negotiations with the KNVB, the Dutch federation have reportedly turned to Roberto Martinez as a potential candidate after the former Everton boss left his role with Portugal following their World Cup exit to eventual champions Spain.
With Slot opting not to follow Klopp into international management, we await to see where his next career move will take him, and how long it’ll take for him to get back on board the ruthless carousel.
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