‘Should I leave, Feyenoord will not collapse’
NOS Football–
Inevitably, with Feyenoord’s championship, it’s also about the future of success coach Arne Slot, as in Studio Football. The 44-year-old Slot may have an ongoing contract until mid-2025, but shouldn’t he make it clear that he will be Feyenoord’s coach next season?
“That clarity is already there, I have a two-year ongoing contract,” Slot responded. “Now first, enjoy it. Everything about my future distracts from why we are here, that we became national champions with Feyenoord. That is too special.”
‘Big boy’
What if a club like Tottenham Hotspur knocks on the door for Slot? “If that club applies, you have to be a big boy to refuse,” said Ibrahim Afellay. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes then. Tottenham Hotspur is a great club, a bit different from Southampton or Aston Villa.”
Slot: ‘Should I ever leave, Feyenoord won’t collapse’
Pierre van Hooijdonk expects Slot to stay at Feyenoord. “Erik ten Hag also just stayed at Ajax when he reached the semi-finals of the Champions League. I don’t think he will leave.”
“At Feyenoord, Slot reached the maximum, he got more out than in,” Afellay said. “Do you expect him to reach the final of the Champions League next year?”
“The chance is real that he will leave,” Arno Vermeulen confessed. “Slot is very ambitious. But the Champions League is also attractive to him and to players. If you keep this eleven with him together, Feyenoord can surprise in the Champions League. This is really a very good eleven.”
Jean-Paul van Gastel, champion with Feyenoord as captain in 1999 and assistant coach at the 2017 title, sees another sporting argument for Slot to stay: “They can become champions again. That’s unique.”
‘There is life after Arne Slot’
“They should give Slot a giga contract,” Afellay argues.
“Feyenoord understands that they have to do something financially with Slot,” Vermeulen also thinks. “Getting a replacement is super difficult. The supply of good trainers who want to go to Feyenoord is limited. Slot is unique.”
‘If Tottenham come, it’s hard to refuse for Slot’
Slot is then nevertheless tempted to say something about a possible departure. “Should I ever at any time decide to leave, I know there is life after Arne Slot,” he said.
Slot continued: “The best thing you can manage as a trainer is to make sure that things don’t collapse when you leave. We managed to do that at AZ. I am convinced that Feyenoord is in such good shape that any other trainer can be successful here.”
Watch the excerpt about the suspended FC Groningen-Ajax game below, as well as End Signal about Orkun Kökçü (by Frank Heinen) and De Muurligger about Quilindschy Hartman (by Hugo Borst).
