How Lance Armstrong inspired Arne Slot and reveals secrets of Liverpool success

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This, he told his Feyenoord players, was an example of a “zero-chance game” they needed to emulate.

Off the pitch, Slot studied the now disgraced Lance Armstrong: not for his illicit methods of gaining an edge but because of the psychological methods he could deploy.

Slot can seem less aggressive, but he likes to look in control.

A new biography, ‘Arne Slot: The New Era’ by the Dutch journalist Milos Gouka, who covered his compatriot’s time in charge of Feyenoord, sheds light on the Liverpool manager’s background and thinking.

A recurring theme in Slot’s training sessions – in professional football, if not necessarily with Zwolle Under-14s – are possession drills where six players take on two.

A particular obsession tactically is what he calls “the hot zone”, a phrase Slot himself dislikes, but refers to the area between the opponents’ defence and midfield.

While Slot likes a coaching staff with common denominators, in language and thinking – whereas some managerial double acts are opposites, he and Hulshoff have similarities – it is notable he not brought any of his former players to Liverpool.

When the Eredivisie was curtailed in 2020 because of Covid, Slot’s side were level on points with an Ajax team, under Erik ten Hag, who had been Champions League semi-finalists the previous year.

Arne Slot won the Premier League title in his first season in charge of Liverpool (Getty Images)

It felt a remarkable feat and yet AZ were slow to open contract talks with Slot.