It was, perhaps, quite telling how Arne Slot and his Liverpool coaching staff celebrated Cody Gakpo’s opening goal at Anfield that levelled the aggregate score in Liverpool’s Carabao Cup semi-final against Tottenham.
Slot has exuded calm in his opening season in charge at Anfield and one word in which you could sum up his manner is understated.
It’s how his approach, demeanour and result of his work have been; highly effective without making a song and dance about it. This is Arne Slot’s Liverpool.
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Arne Slot: 'Reaching a final should always be special, even for Liverpool'
And yet, when Gakpo made it 1-0 on the night, Slot and his coaching staff of Sipke Hulshoff, John Heitinga and Aaron Briggs embraced with a celebration that seemed quite pointed. It may only be the Carabao Cup, but it’s the first opportunity to get silverware at Liverpool.
Former assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders, in describing his desire to reach the League Cup final, explained last year: "Liverpool Football Club is made for major trophies and each year we should fight for them.”
Lijnders and Jurgen Klopp often spoke of how the Carabao Cup provided the chance to get to a semi-final in January and a final in February. That’s a little later this year due to the new Champions League format, but the point still stands. Lijnders and Klopp believed it helped to foster a winning mentality playing in semi-finals and finals so early in the season. After all, collecting silverware is a nice habit to have.
There is also quite a synergy in that Slot’s first chance to collect a trophy is to defend the piece of silverware Klopp won so proudly with an injury-decimated squad, the trophy which Klopp said was “easily the most special trophy I ever won” after Liverpool’s youthful side overcame Chelsea’s richly assembled squad in the final at Wembley last season.
Last season’s success in the competition, which extended Liverpool’s record as the most successful side in the League Cup, is something Slot also made a point of acknowledging, saying: “I think if you win a trophy in the season before you always have to take the challenge on trying to win it again.”
When asked post-match about reaching his first final at the first attempt, Slot showed that understated side again, the Dutchman this time using just one word to describe his feelings. “Pleasant”.
“Reaching a final should always be special, even for this club,” he added. And this could be shaping up to be a very special debut season for the Dutchman at Liverpool.
If Jurgen Klopp was the Normal One, Arne Slot is proving to be the Understated One. Those Bob Paisley comparisons may well continue - mind, even Paisley didn’t win the title in his first season in charge.
Slot’s understated approach is exactly what Liverpool Football Club needed but it will be interesting to see how he and his staff would celebrate a first trophy at the first attempt at Wembley on March 16. Footage from the Dutchman’s time at Feyenoord showed him leading the chants at a title-winning parade, and some at Anfield are starting to wonder if they too may get to see Slot show that side of his personality later this season.
