How Liverpool have been influencing their new coach for years already

Liverpool may have only just appointed John Heitinga, but the Reds’ style of play has been influencing Arne Slot‘s new assistant coach for a long time.

After retiring from playing in February 2016, Heitinga immediately set to work as a coach, doing his badges and rising through the Ajax setup.

Now, as a UEFA Pro License holder, he has joined Liverpool to become one of Slot’s assistants in a new-look backroom.

Though the coaching personnel may have changed, the style of football won’t differ too greatly from the high-energy game employed by Jurgen Klopp.

Speaking to The Athletic in 2020 while managing Ajax U19s, Heitinga admitted he has a “few influences” which include Liverpool’s team under Klopp.

He explained how “Ajax’s style from the past with Cruyff, but also Van Gaal, and the relationship that Moyes had with players” has impacted him.

The Dutchman then added Pep Guardiola and Diego Simeone to his list of iNFLuences, before mentioning “Liverpool’s high intensity” and explaining: “When they get the ball, it’s the quickest way to goal.”

• EXPERT INSIGHT: Why Heitinga’s ‘passionate style’ is perfect for Slot’s LFC

It took seven years of coaching at Ajax’s famous De Toekomst academy before Heitinga was eventually named caretaker manager in January 2023, following Alfred Schreuder’s departure.

Heitinga won 14 of his 22 games in charge but it wasn’t enough to get the job on a permanent basis, and he subsequently joined West Ham where he spent the 2023/24 as Moyes’ assistant.

The 40-year-old’s Ajax Education, both as a player and coach, has given him some of the qualities that Liverpool are looking for, including a willingness to develop players from the academy.

Talking about the Ajax setup, he said: “There is a pathway from the first team through to the under-8s. I have the first-team database and they have mine. We all share.

“We don’t have a secret — it’s just the way we treat our players, the discipline we ask from them. Age is just a number if you’re good enough.

“We take risks. It means we can lose games as well. Of course you want to win but it’s important to learn.”

Growing up as a part of this system, Heitinga always yearned to become Ajax boss, but now that opportunity has come and gone, for now, Dutch football journalist Elko Born speculated that he may have had a change of mindset.

He told This Is Anfield: “When he did become Ajax manager as a caretaker it didn’t work out as well for him as he had hoped.

“It must have been such a huge professional disappointment for him. He hasn’t said much about it, but I wonder how he feels personally now.

“Does he feel like, ‘OK, maybe I’m too young to be a first-team manager, maybe I need more experience as an assistant somewhere before taking up that senior leadership role in a club?’

“Or maybe did he discover for himself, if not for anyone else, that maybe being the first team manager and the guy in charge does not suit him as much as he would have liked?

“Maybe he’s more of a coach, and maybe he needs to be an assistant somewhere, perhaps in Liverpool. And maybe that’s just a job that suits his skill set better.”