Football
  • Home
  • News
  • Who Is Arne Slot The Manager At The Top Of The Next Leeds Head Coach Shortlist?

Who is Arne Slot - the manager at the top of the next Leeds head coach shortlist?

Arne Slot

Feyenoord manager Arne Slot is one of the front runners to become Leeds' next manager. However, who is he and is he the right man to secure their Premier League survival?

Slot is a Dutch manager who has spent the entirety of his managerial and playing career in his native country.

He currently manages Feyenoord who sit on top of the Eredivise table, ahead of Dutch giants Ajax and PSV.

His senior playing career started in 1995 when he made his debut for FC Zwolle as a midfielder. He then moved around Dutch teams such as Sparta Rotterdam, PEC Zwolle and NAC Breda. Before retiring in 2013 at age 35.

In the early days of his managerial career, he coached one of the youth teams at PEC Zwolle in 2013 before joining Cambuur as their assistant manager until 2017.

He then made another step up in his career, joining AZ Alkmaar as the assistant to John van den Brom whose spell didn't go too well. After the dismissal of Van Den Brom, Slot was given the first-team manager role at AZ.

The 44-year-old's maiden season as a first-team manager was cut short due to the Covid-19. The team still placed second thanks to their goal difference, but a winner wasn't crowned in 2019.

The following season, Slot was sacked from AZ after being accused of not being focused on the team. Despite this he still averaged 2.11 points per game - the highest points tally from any manager in the club's history.

Taking over at Feyenoord

After his dismissal in 2020, Slot was announced as the new Feyenoord manager and initially agreed to a two-year deal. 

During his first full season at the club, he took the team to the Europa Conference League final but lost out to Jose Mourinho's Roma.

Feyenoord, who are are currently unbeaten in their last eight games in all competitions, are performing above expectations this season and are on track to win their first league title since 2017. 

Slot's managerial style

The 44-year-old's managerial style has been likened to Leeds fan favourite Marcelo Bielsa.

This is largely due to the attack-minded nature of his tactics, which bore plenty of fruit for Leeds under Bielsa. He may be the breath of fresh air that the Elland Road club are looking for.

Slot has spoken about his play style saying: "We [Feyenoord] are an attack-minded team that likes to have a lot of the ball, and we play with a lot of intensity."

However, Leeds taking a punt on the 44-year-old would be seen as a major risk as he hasn't managed outside of the Eredivise.

Leeds are on the brink of losing their Premier League status and the next manager they appoint will be their last hope at retaining it, but Slot has also only ever managed sides at the top end of the table in his homeland.

And the big question for Slot is - would you swap a possible Dutch title for a relegation dogfight?

Can Slot be the man Andrea Radrizzani's trusts to knit the Leeds dressing back together and turn their fortunes around on the pitch?

More Articles