The Dutchman has made a seamless transition in succeeding Jurgen Klopp at Anfield, vindicating the Reds' decision to pick him over the Portuguese
Last April, Arne Slot and Ruben Amorim were involved in title races in the Netherlands and Portugal, respectively. But in the background, the two coaches were facing off in the race to succeed Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.
Amorim was believed to be the frontrunner and in early April he moved to deny that he had conducted an interview with Liverpool or signed any agreement, insisting his only focus was on the Primeira Liga title race. Later in the month, Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes flew out to Rotterdam to meet Slot, who then confirmed that negotiations were taking place and that he was "in the waiting room".
Now, nine months after Slot won the battle for the Anfield hotseat, he will meet Amorim for the first time time when a haggard Manchester United take on an all-conquering Liverpool. And the Reds' decision to pick the Dutchman over the Portuguese is looking like a masterstroke.
GettyGuided by data
Liverpool had a head start in their search to find a replacement for Klopp as the German first told them he would be leaving at the end of the season back in November 2023, two months before he officially announced his departure. And just as when they appointed Klopp in 2015 even after a disastrous final campaign with Borussia Dortmund, they were guided by the data.
Liverpool's resurgence under Klopp had been underpinned by a data revolution led by head of research Ian Graham, with encouragement from sporting director Michael Edwards. The search for the German's successor was overseen by Will Spearman, who earned a PhD in physics from Harvard and previously worked in nuclear research before becoming Liverpool's lead data scientist, and ultimately succeeded Graham in 2022. Edwards, who left the club in 2021 but then returned as football CEO in March 2024, also had a key say, along with Hughes.
According to , Spearman had been working on an algorithm that evaluates coaching performance according to a number of metrics such as playing style, player development and compatibility with different types of players. Slot scored highest. Hughes, who had previously worked for Bournemouth, had also studied Slot's work closely during the process of signing Marcos Senesi for the Cherries from Feyenoord.
Slot's Feyenoord were found to be the most similar team to Klopp's Liverpool in Europe in terms of numbers of possessions per game, average pass length and speed of moving the ball upfield.
AdvertisementGettyNot worth the risk
Slot has tweaked Liverpool's style of play in a number of ways, such as giving them greater control by playing Ryan Gravenberch in holding midfield, making the full-backs narrower to reduce counter-attacks, turning Cody Gakpo back into a left winger and playing Luis Diaz as a striker, but he is ultimately staying on the same path as his beloved predecessor. And that is why Liverpool had reservations about Amorim.
The Portuguese was considered and analysed as part of Liverpool's robust process given his stellar work with Sporting, but his strong alignment to a certain tactical style, namely using a back three, raised concerns over whether he would fit with the Reds' squad. It is one of the main reasons why he was never offered the job, along with the fact that Slot was deemed the outstanding candidate.
Hiring Amorim would have meant starting all over again, when Liverpool already had a winning formula. It was a risk they did not need to take. After all, the Reds were in the thick of the title race last season until April, when injuries destroyed their bid.
By contrast, Amorim's clear vision and charismatic personality understandably appealed to United after enduring their worst-ever season in the Premier League and making a miserable start to this campaign. They needed a fresh start, but they are finding out the hard way that their squad does also not fit with Amorim's style, which relies on energetic midfielders and highly athletic wing-backs.
GettyIncompatible squad
The current squad's incompatibility with Amorim's style of play was laid bare in the lifeless first-half performance against Newcastle, when the midfield was comprised of Christian Eriksen and Casemiro, each aged 32. Joshua Zirkzee doesn't have the pace or technical ability to play as one of the narrow wingers behind Rasmus Hojlund, and Noussair Mazraoui, deployed as wing-back, didn't know whether to defend or attack and ended up doing neither.
Watching United toil against Newcastle, it was easy to understand why Ten Hag abandoned the positional play from his years with Ajax and geared his team around counter-attacking and exploiting the pace of both Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho. Neither, though, fits into Amorim's style of play.
Only Diogo Dalot, Amad Diallo and Harry Maguire seem like natural fits for the way Amorim wishes his team to play.
GettyNo time, no money
For Amorim to be a success, he needs money to purchase the right players and time to put his ideas into practice. At the moment, however, he has neither.
United are dangerously close to their Financial Fair Play limits and co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is making cutbacks at every level, which is making for a toxic atmosphere around the club. Amorim has admitted they can only do business in January if they sell players. The coach insists he needs more time to "sell my idea", but he has scant training sessions due to playing twice per week.
For the first time in his short tenure he now has time on the training ground, with six days after Newcastle to prepare for the Liverpool game and then seven days before facing Arsenal in the FA Cup. But then the grind of two games per week returns, with United playing seven matches in the space of 21 days until the start of February.
Amorim acknowledged in his first press conference that you get no time at a big club and you need results now. And his side need results urgently as they drift closer and closer towards an unthinkable battle with relegation.