Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has explained why he waited until the Premier League title was won before doing his first fist pumps in front of The Kop.
His predecessor, Jurgen Klopp, was routinely seen doing them at Anfield when Liverpool had won. And Slot was keen not to copy the German when he took over last summer.
“I always felt that the fans were waiting for a moment like this and I always thought, ‘Don’t do it too early, wait for the final moment when we won it and then it could be a nice interaction with the fans’,” he said.
“Because this is what Jurgen of course always did. I don’t want to copy Jurgen during the season, but I thought this is a nice moment to do this. And I didn’t do it by myself, my staff were there as well, and I think it was a special moment for all four of us.”
Since the Premier League title was confirmed, Slot has also heard his new song being belted out both home and away. It was particularly loud at the Amex Stadium on Monday as the Reds played Brighton.
“I heard it for the first time very loud and long and often at Stamford Bridge when we played Chelsea,” Slot, speaking to Liverpool’s official website, said. “It’s a song that’s really popular in Holland as well.
“Maybe that’s not even a coincidence because these fans always come up with special songs. I don’t think there are many clubs that have so many special songs, I think we stand out in that as well, our fans stand out in that as well.
“So to have one is already special, to have one that’s so connected with Holland makes it even more special.
“If you see clips from when the Dutch national team is playing, it’s always from left to the right, and it’s the same melody that our fans use now as well.
“So, yeah, to bring number 20, as part of being the one that brought number 20, is special and to have a song — especially then a song that’s about bringing in a 20th league title — is definitely very special.”
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Liverpool finishes the season with a home game against Crystal Palace on Sunday. After that match, Virgil van Dijk will lift the trophy at Anfield.
“This club has had so much success over the course of its whole history and then for people to say that this was one of their special moments and be part of it as a manager… every time someone says to me things like this, then I’m like, ‘We really did something special’,” Slot continued.
“It’s very nice. Everywhere I went for the first 10 months it was always ‘Arne Slot, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah’, because that’s what Jurgen did. And now, when I’m somewhere, they start to sing this [new] song.”
