Arne Slot: How has potential Liverpool manager fared against elite coaches?

After months of speculation, it appears that Liverpool's search for Jurgen Klopp's successor is finally coming to a conclusion. 

With previous favourites Xabi Alonso and Ruben Amorim no longer in contention, it seems that Feyenoord manager Arne Slot will be the man in the Anfield hot seat next season.

The Reds are currently in negotiations with the Dutch side as they look to finalise a deal as soon as possible, with Liverpool supporters beginning to look ahead to what the future holds.

While not the most glamorous appointment that Liverpool could have made, Slot certainly seems like a good fit for the Reds.

He has solid experience and title-winning pedigree, duelling with some of the world's best coaches during his time in the Netherlands.

Here is how Arne Slot has fared against Europe's elite managers.

ARNE SLOT EUROPEAN RECORD VS ELITE COACHES

While Slot hasn't faced the calibre of coaches he will meet in the Premier League on a regular basis, he has battled with some of the best in the business.

That was certainly the case in this season's Champions League group stage, in which Feyenoord were draw against Atletico Madrid, Lazio and Celtic.

He clashed with Diego Simeone of Atletico on two occasions and was unable to come away with a victory. Feyenoord lost both games, although they gave a good account of themselves in 3-2 and 3-1 defeats.

Battles with Maurizio Sarri's Lazio were more fruitful, with a 3-1 win at home and a narrow 1-0 defeat on the road. Feyenoord faced off against the former Chelsea coach in last season's Europa League too, suffering a 4-2 defeat in Rome before a 1-0 victory in Rotterdam.

And then, of course, there were clashes with former Liverpool coach Brendan Rodgers. After a 2-0 victory against nine-man Celtic in the first meeting, Feyenoord then fell to a 91st-minute 2-1 defeat in Glasgow.

One of Slot's greatest achievements at Feyenoord was getting them to the Europa Conference League final in 2021/22, although they came up short against Jose Mourinho's Roma. A 1-0 defeat in the final was followed by a 1-0 home victory over the Portuguese coach in the 2022/23 Europa League quarter-finals, although a 4-1 defeat in Rome during the second leg saw them crash out of the competition.

Another notable scalp came against Jorge Sampaoli and his Marseille side in the 2021/22 Conference League semis, winning the home encounter 3-2 before a hard-fought goalless draw in the second leg in France.

Slot has also won matches against the likes of Urs Fischer and Gennaro Gattuso.

ARNE SLOT DOMESTIC RECORD VS ELITE COACHES

Slot has drawn unfair comparisons with Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag in recent days and the two coaches have faced off against one another on four occasions.

During his time with AZ Alkmaar, Slot won home and away against Ten Hag's impressive Ajax side - a team that reached the Champions League semi-final the season prior - keeping cleans sheets in both matches. With Feyenoord, he suffered successive defeats in the 2021/22 campaign.

The team that are currently trumping Slot's Feyenoord in the Eredivise are PSV Eindhoven and the Liverpool-linked coach has enjoyed some intriguing battles with their current boss Peter Bosz - formerly of Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and Lyon.

The two managers have clashed on four occasions this season, with Slot losing in the Dutch Super Cup final and in their first Eredivisie meeting.

However, Slot got the better of Bosz in the last 16 of the KNVB Beker (Dutch Cup) en route to winning the competition, while Feyenoord are also one of only a handful of sides to have taken points off PSV in the league with a 2-2 draw in March.

One other notable battle came with Roger Schmidt - the current Benfica boss who was briefly linked with Liverpool. The former PSV coach suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Slot on home soil during the 2021/22 campaign, drawing the other clash 2-2 in Rotterdam.

CONCLUSION

Slot has certainly faced some formidable managers in his short career to date and he has some impressive scalps to his name, but it's certainly true that he is yet to meet the level of coach that he will face week in and week out in the Premier League.

However, he has managed to compete with some brilliant sides on the European stage despite the limited financial resources available to him at Feyenoord, while he has history of triumphing over talented Dutch coaches in the Eredivisie.

It's impossible to predict just how Slot will get on at Anfield, providing negotiations go to plan, but he is an exciting appointment despite his relative lack of experience.