It is difficult for any manager to make the successful leap from the Eredivisie to the Premier League, especially at two of the most watched clubs in England, as Ten Hag’s two-plus years at Old Trafford have shown. The former Ajax boss was even close to being sacked this summer.
Before Ten Hag, Frank De Boer was the last coach to move from the Eredivisie to the Premier League. And in a short space of time, De Boer had a forgettable tenure at Crystal Palace. The reason is understandable because the level of the Dutch national championship is currently far lower than the Premier League.
La Liga is now the league where total football is "industrialised", instead of the Eredivisie. Proof of this is that a quarter of Premier League managers in the 2024-2025 season are Spanish. Four of them are strategists pursuing the total attacking philosophy "revolutionised" by Pep Guardiola himself.
Sources close to Ten Hag say there have been times when the Dutchman has been shocked by the scale of the job at Old Trafford, which shows how far apart the two leagues are, despite the immense pressure Ten Hag experienced at Ajax.
Ajax’s European record is on paper not far behind United’s and they are the most closely watched club in the Netherlands. Ten Hag also faced an average of around three games a day, despite being the biggest spender in the Eredivisie. Slot, meanwhile, had nothing like that at Feyenoord.
Ironically, Ten Hag did not benefit from that experience because of his poor start to life at United. By his third season, it felt like Ten Hag had no clear idea of tactics. With Slot, he has had a dream start at Anfield.
"Jurgen Klopp and Pep Lijnders left a solid foundation. Arne Slot had better conditions than I did when I came to Manchester United from the Netherlands, in terms of the structure in the club and the balance of the squad," Ten Hag said in May.
The key point, however, is that Slot has remained calm about his squad, despite impatience from outside as they have struggled to make new signings.
Liverpool specifically chose Slot because of his outstanding record in charge of Feyenoord. The Kop feel that Slot has the potential to become the best coach in the world. It is evident that Slot's ideas are starting to take hold faster than expected, although the real test lies ahead.
Ultimately, success or failure will depend on the talent and adaptability of each coach rather than their starting point. Slot and Ten Hag are both from the Netherlands, but they are on opposite paths.
