In the Netherlands surprise champion Feyenoord Rotterdam is electrifying the football community. Despite the low budget and a squad of largely unknown players, the club found an effective recipe for success: coach Arne Slot. An unlikely success story.
In the recent past, Dutch football culture has been known for one thing in particular: little risk. Anyone who thinks of “Oranje” coaches like Louis van Gaal thinks of long periods of possession, calm passing relays and deep pressing.
This philosophy seems to be faltering more and more. Modern forms of play with high pressing and fast play structure are increasingly preferred – and with success. Erik ten Tag, head coach of Ajax Amsterdam until the end of last season, provided a first taste of this style.
In his four and a half years with the capital club he won the championship three times. The title was not awarded in the Corona year, but Ajax was also in first place in the table. Feyenoord coach Arne Slot raised the risky style of play to a new level – with resounding success.
The rapid ascent to a successful trainer
The busy slot took his first steps as a trainer directly after his playing career. After hanging up his boots at PEC Zwolle in 2013, he immediately joined the same club as a youth coach. He got his first job as a head coach at AZ Alkmaar, where he had previously worked as an assistant.
In its first season, Slot averaged 2.24 points per game – a club record! In the first ten games of the following season, AZ Alkmaar even went unbeaten. The sudden dismissal of Slots was all the more surprising as a reaction to his secret negotiations with the club’s management of Feyenoord Rotterdam.
This setback shouldn’t throw Slot further off course, however. Nevertheless, he got the job as head coach in “De Kuip”. And the decision paid off.
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Low investment, high return
The coach already showed his talent in his debut year. From a team full of rather unknown players and a small budget, he formed a team that could compete on the international stage. In the new Europa Conference League, Feyenoord reached the final, only AS Roma under star coach José Mourinho had to admit defeat (0:1). In the domestic Eredivisie, Slot increased their points tally from 59 last year to an impressive 71 this season.
An experience that top Dutch teams have been making for years, Rotterdam was not spared during the summer break either. Several top performers left the club for the Premier League. Senesi, Sinisterra and Co. brought the team a healthy transfer income, but Rotterdam was rather cautious on the purchasing side.
The background was the tense financial situation of the association. In the Corona year 2020, the club management reported a loss of 17 million euros. Since then, the mountain of debt has only been reduced to a small extent. With the transfer plus of almost 35 million euros, all holes should be plugged, albeit in the short term at least at the expense of sporting competitiveness – at least that’s what was thought.
Slot style – a breath of fresh air Dutch football
Coach Arne Slot had other ideas. As in the previous year, the 44-year-old managed to form a successful team from a squad with few stars. No expensive players, no big names, but a high level of tactical understanding and an irrepressible will. “We come through the fight”also knows substitute goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther, the only German in the squad.
The resounding success with the risky game is by no means a matter of course, as an example makes clear. In the build-up, Slot orders the full-backs to the front early on, allowing the center-backs to move to the sides. In this system, the goalkeeper then acts as a supplement to the back row. At the same time, the two defensive midfielders should move freely behind the opponent’s first chain and always look for the passing station.
If the running offensive players are outplayed, the fast switching game can begin. Here the two offensive full-backs are used again. If, contrary to expectations, the ball is lost in the counterattack situation, the collective reacts with direct counter-pressing. According to “theanalyst.com”, this resulted in 173 ball losses in the last third, which in turn led to 33 shots and nine goals – the best in the league!
For the first time since the 2016/17 season: Feyenoord Rotterdam has won the Dutch championship.
Is Slot moving on again?
The precise implementation of these tactical guidelines was the key to Rotterdam’s exceptionally successful year. Last weekend, Arne Slot’s team were crowned Dutch champions early with a 3-0 win over the Go Ahead Eagles. It is only the second title for Feyenoord this century.
No wonder that other top clubs have also become aware of the Dutch “prodigy” in recent weeks and months. According to media reports, Slot is currently being traded by Tottenham Hotspur and Eintracht Frankfurt. The Feyenoord coach, who has never worked outside the Netherlands in his entire career, still has a contract until 2025, but who knows, maybe he is already negotiating with another club.