Arne Slot has been officially dismissed, ending his 2-year journey as head coach at Liverpool.
The Dutch strategist signed a 3-year contract in the summer of 2024. Right in his first season, he helped "The Kop" win the 20th national championship in history, winning the championship 1 month early before ending the season with a 10-point gap from second-placed Arsenal.
However, Slot's second season is much more difficult. With 12 Premier League defeats – the worst in 11 years – and a total of 20 defeats in all competitions, Liverpool had an unstable season.
Injuries and the decline in form of key players are considered the reasons for this decline, but Slot's playing style also faced much criticism throughout the difficult season. It was not until the final round that Liverpool officially secured a Champions League spot.
In a joint statement on the club's official media channels, Liverpool's owner – Fenway Sports Group (FSG) – wrote: “We affirm that this is an extremely difficult decision for the club.
The contributions that Arne has made to Liverpool FC are very great, meaningful and most important to fans as well as to ourselves - that is success.
Therefore, our appreciation for all the achievements he has made is immense, especially when those successes are built on professional ethics, dedication and high expertise, which further affirms our view that he is an excellent leader in his field.
Right from the first moment of contact with Arne, we clearly saw that he was an individual who not only accepted responsibility, but also actively accepted it ....
We have come to the conclusion together that change is necessary for the club to continue to move forward. Again, it should be emphasized that this is not a decision made gently.
The conclusion we draw is based on the belief that the team's trajectory needs to be resolved by a change of direction.
Arne left with our gratitude and with the affirmation that he and his family will always be welcome back to Anfield".
3 replacement candidates
Arne Slot left, the list of replacement candidates was announced early, with Andoni Iraola, Sebastian Hoeness and Pierre Sage. Among these, Iraola - former Bournemouth coach, was assessed by experts from The Times, The Athletic, Sky Sports and The Telegraph as the "most promising candidate".
His connection with sports director Richard Hughes is mentioned a lot and the Spanish coach himself is said to be "interested" in this job.
According to the Telegraph, "insiders feel that Iraola is the best candidate, although FSG will go through an official process".
Meanwhile, Hoeness, 44, of Stuttgart, is described as a coach combining "defensive stability" with "generous attacking style".
He brought the German club out of relegation, won the German National Cup (DFB Cup) and won a Champions League spot, making people compare him to Jurgen Klopp.
Sage, 47, is little known, but he led Lens to finish second in their first season leading and won the first French National Cup in club history.
He is a calm person, and it is interesting that he told Telefoot that his dream is to one day lead Liverpool, but committed to continuing to lead Lens in the Champions League.
