Former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has offered advice to the Reds' incoming boss Arne Slot, telling the Dutchman what he'll find similar to other jobs and what will be different at Anfield.
Slot revealed over the weekend that he would be leaving Feyenoord and taking over from Jurgen Klopp ahead of the 2024-25 season. The news was confirmed by Liverpool on Sunday, with the 45-year-old due to start work on June 1.
Benitez, 64, managed Liverpool between 2004 and 2010. He won the Champions League with the Reds in his first season, before reaching the final of the competition in 2007 and leading the Merseyside club to second place in the Premier League in 2008-09.
The Spaniard has warned Slot about the media attention that will come with his new role. However, he also pointed to the importance of recognising his squad's quality before embarking on his first season in charge.
"If you ask my opinion on what awaits Arne Slot, it is important to remember the context because you have to compare Liverpool now to when I joined in 2004," Benitez wrote for The Telegraph. "Following Jürgen Klopp is not easy, but the most important question for any manager going into a new club is always, ‘How good are the players?’ and ‘Can they fit how we want to play?’.
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He said the first few signings for the new boss are "always massive". In his own first window as Liverpool boss, Benitez made signings including Xabi Alonso and Luis Garcia who both made an instant impact and stayed at Anfield for a number of years.
Slot has already been linked with a number of players, including Feyenoord star Lutsharel Geertruida. However, the returning transfer guru Michael Edwards is also expected to have a significant say in transfers.
What would represent a successful first season for Arne Slot? Have your say in the comments section
Rafa Benitez won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005 (Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)Slot will arrive at Anfield having won the Eredivisie in 2022-23, with Feyenoord finishing seven points clear that year. The most recent campaign saw PSV end up on top, but Slot's team won the KNVB Cup.
There will be changes the new boss has to adapt to, though, as was the case when Benitez arrived from Valencia. Some of these will be on the field, with Benitez telling Slot some will be positive - the Anfield atmosphere for big European nights, for example - and others, like the inability to hide from media attention, more of a challenge.
Benitez has urged strong communication from the new man, while also encouraging him to show his true self. "My biggest advice to him or to any manager is he must be himself while understanding the culture of the club and the city he is coming to work," he said. "Once he understands that, he has made a positive first step and he will be guided down the right path."
Jurgen Klopp has urged Liverpool's fans to get behind his successor (PA)The arrival of Slot marks a significant change for Liverpool, who have played under the same manager since October 2015. Klopp has welcomed his successor, though, and encouraged supporters to do the same when he spoke after his final game in charge on Sunday.
"You welcome the new manager like you welcomed me," he said. "You go all-in from the first day. And you keep believing and you push the team.
"Change is good. No one tells you to stop believing. This club may be in the best position ever. We decide if we are worried or excited. We decide if we believe. We decide if we trust or don't trust and since today I am one of you and I keep believing in you."
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