One of English football’s traditional rivalries will have a Dutch flavour this Sunday when Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag and Liverpool’s new manager Arne Slot go head to head.
They have faced each other five times in the Netherlands previously and have quite a few managerial traits in common.
With both hailing from the east of the Netherlands, they started their first-team managerial careers in the Dutch Second Division.
They proved their credentials early on with Slot reaching the semi-final of the Dutch Cup with SC Cambuur and Ten Hag guiding Go Ahead Eagles to the Eredivisie. It earned the latter a move to the second team of Bayern Munich, where he would work during Pep Guardiola’s time at the Allianz Arena.
The Manchester City manager is a big inspiration to both Dutch bosses, with Guardiola’s style of football also having an influence on them.
When Ten Hag and Slot faced each other for the first time as head coaches on 25 January 2017, a historic moment took place in Dutch football.
Slot had recently taken over at SC Cambuur, where he was appointed in a co-interim role with Sipke Hulshoff, who is now Slot’s assistant at Anfield. Ten Hag was in charge of Eredivisie side FC Utrecht when the pair met for the Dutch Cup quarter-final.
Slot’s side were leading 2-1 late in the second half when a high ball was played in their box, which Utrecht striker Sebastien Haller controlled with his chest and then aimed at goal with a bicycle kick.
His attempt hit a Cambuur defender who also handled the ball and that led to a penalty. The video assistant referee (VAR) was deployed and for the first time in Dutch football, the referee reversed his decision after reviewing the footage on screen.
Utrecht would go on to equalise, but Cambuur won the subsequent penalty shootout. It made for happy scenes and their goalkeeping coach Rene Ponk remembers the influence of Slot very well.
“We would often play in a 4-3-3 formation, but in possession one of the full-backs or wingers would go and play inside as a midfielder, which would result in a square shape, creating an advantage in midfield which would often force opponents to make adjustments,” he said.
“For example, when the left winger would go inside, the opponent’s right-back and central defender would be in doubt who had to mark him, which automatically created space. In those things Arne was really good.”
Ponk recalled how Cambuur applied this system against Utrecht and it helped them reach the semi-final, which was a historic achievement for the club.
Although he was on the losing side in that game, later that year Ten Hag demonstrated how he was also able to adapt his tactics in order to influence a big match when Utrecht played Ajax away.
Urby Emanuelson had just signed for Utrecht and recalled: “Usually we played in a 4-4-2 with a diamond, but this time Erik chose a kind of 5-3-2.
“Inside a week he had prepared us so well that this new formation felt like natural to the players. During the match we were capable to do exactly what we had been training on.
“I remember we were looking to each other on the field and thinking, ‘we are going to win this game’!”
And that’s what they did, with Utrecht recording a 2-1 win and Ajax appointing Ten Hag just two months’ later.
The following season saw Ten Hag and Slot meet again, with the latter now at AZ Alkmaar. He started as an assistant but in the summer of 2019 he was appointed first-team manager and his debut season was impressive, with AZ beating Ten Hag’s Ajax twice.
Shortly after the second victory, the Dutch league was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic and eventually cancelled with both teams level on points.
Slot’s achievements at AZ caught the eye of Feyenoord, who hired him before the start of the 2021-2022 season. Slot continued to impress, reaching the Conference League final in his debut season, but lost to Ten Hag’s Ajax twice in the league.
Now the pair are set to renew their rivalry in the Premier League.
Most fans will be expecting a different encounter to when they met in pre-season.
Slot claimed the early advantage with Liverpool beating United 3-0 in the match in Columbia, South Carolina.
Although the pair will be fierce rivals, former colleagues believe they share tactical and man-management similarities.
Ponk explained how Slot involved everyone in the team.
“The good thing about him is that he can listen very well to the people around him and that he can delegate things as well,” he added.
In his early days as a manager, Ponk noticed how intelligent Slot was. “He was very good in dissecting what his team would need to confuse an opponent. I had never experienced that level of forward thinking.”
Emanuelson was also impressed by the 54-year-old Ten Hag’s tactical nous.
“He had implemented a system which felt refreshing, everyone knew exactly what they had to do,” he added. “We played in a 4-4-2 system, in where we defended in front of our opponent instead of behind them. It was all about closing the gaps and spaces.
“Nowadays that is all very common, but back then it was quite innovative. Ten Hag was moving players around all the time.”
Both Ponk and Emanuelson also praised the personal side of the coaches.
“He is a sincere person,” said Emanuelson of Ten Hag. “He was well-liked within the squad. He could be direct when it was needed, but he was a father figure, too. Sometimes he would go for dinner with the guys – players could really speak if they had something on their mind.”
A similar image is sketched by Ponk about the 45-year-old Slot as he said: “He is very human and respectful, he is always there for you. He is strict and fair, but you could always go to him if you wanted to have a chat.”
With results between them pretty even so far, Sunday will show who can earn the early bragging rights in the new ‘Dutch’ north-west English rivalry.