Jurgen Klopp has told Arne Slot that he would be taking over the “best job in the world” if the Dutchman is appointed as the next Liverpool manager.
The Feyenoord coach has emerged as the favorite to succeed Klopp after confirming that negotiations have started between the clubs. Slot said he wanted to take up one of the most daunting tasks in soccer by succeeding the Anfield great.
“Best job in the world, best club in the world,” Klopp said Friday. "He would take a really, really interesting job.”
Klopp is standing down at the end of the season after more than eight years at Liverpool in which he has won a full set of trophies including the Premier League and Champions League.
He said he liked Slot’s style of soccer, but has not been involved in the negotiations over his potential appointment.
“If he’s the solution I’m more than happy. It’s not up to me to judge these things, but it all sounds really good to me,” he said.
Klopp had been hoping to go out on top by leading Liverpool to a second league title of his reign. But a 2-0 loss at Everton on Wednesday has left Arsenal and Manchester City as the leading contenders to be crowned champion. Liverpool was also eliminated in the Europa League quarterfinals by Atalanta.
While that has put a dampener on Klopp's final weeks in charge, he believes it could benefit his successor.
“Obviously now I even help by not finishing on a high, which it looks like, so there is space for improvement,” he said.
Xabi Alonso had been the favorite to succeed Klopp before committing his future to German champion Bayer Leverkusen. Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim had been another contender.
But it appears the 45-year-old Slot will be the man to lead Liverpool — assuming an agreement can be reached with Feyenoord to release a coach that delivered the Dutch league title last season and the Dutch Cup this year.
Finding the right candidate to fill Klopp's shoes was always going to be an arduous task given Liverpool’s success under his watch.
Since his appointment in 2015, Klopp has transformed the club into one of the most dominant forces in European soccer and ended its 30-year wait for an English league title in 2020.
He has become an icon for fans, with his trademark post-match fist pump to the crowd an example of the connection he has with them. Supporters were stunned in January by his decision to stand down because he was “running out of energy.”
While Slot has a winning pedigree with Feyenoord, that record will not guarantee success in England.
Liverpool need only look to Erik ten Hag’s struggles at Manchester United to know how difficult it can be for a winning coach to adapt to a new league. Ten Hag won three Dutch titles with Ajax, but faces uncertainty over his future at Old Trafford after a troubled season that looks likely to see United fail to qualify for the Champions League.
An advantage for Slot would be the fact that he takes over a team on the up after Klopp rebuilt his all-conquering squad over the past two years.
Despite losing key players like Sadio Mane, Jordan Henderson and Roberto Firmino, Liverpool has quickly returned to title contention and won the League Cup in February with seven players of his team in the final aged 21 or under.
Michael Edwards, who was recently appointed “chief executive of football” for Liverpool owner Fenway Sports Group, has overseen the process of identifying Klopp's successor. He was the club's former sporting director and had a key role in Klopp's success, which included the signings of Mohamed Salah, Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk.
As part of the search, Liverpool looked for candidates who would suit a squad assembled to play Klopp's high-pressing tactics, and Slott's preferred 4-3-3 system fits that description.
For a long period, Alonso had looked like the perfect fit after the former Liverpool player ended Bayern Munich's dominance of German soccer.
Liverpool never publicly confirmed interest in Alonso, but last month he put an end to speculation himself when announcing he would remain at Leverkusen.
Amorim initially replaced him as the favorite to succeed Klopp, while Roberto De Zerbi has impressed at Brighton.
But with just four games remaining of Klopp's reign, the search for his replacement appears to be nearing an end.
James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
Liverpool's manager Jurgen Klopp looks on during the warm up before the English Premier League soccer match between Fulham and Liverpool at Craven Cottage stadium in London, Sunday, April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
PANAMA CITY (AP) — José Raúl Mulino said he was practically retired from politics just over six months ago.
Now, he’ll be Panama’s president for the next five years.
Standing before a pack of supporters Sunday night, Mulino said: “I never imagined this.”
In a historic and tumultuous election, preliminary results put Mulino on top to lead the normally sleepy Central American nation through a moment of political tension, historic migration and a struggling economy.
The 64-year-old lawyer, whose last position in politics was as minister of security in then President Ricardo Martinelli's 2009-2014 administration, was initially tapped by the popular former leader to be his running mate after Martinelli’s wife declined.
But then Martinelli was disqualified from running after he was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for a money laundering conviction. Mulino took his place, and ended up winning Sunday’s presidential election with 35% of the vote and a nine-point lead over his nearest opponent after dodging constitutional challenges to his own candidacy.
The president-elect got there with strong support from Martinelli, arguably the most important tool in Mulino’s campaign as he rode the fiery ex-leader’s popularity to victory.
While he lacks Martinelli’s charisma, the economic boom seen under his ally pushed many voters to support Mulino at a time that Panama’s economy has lagged.
The former president, who has been sheltering in the Nicaraguan Embassy since February after receiving political asylum, said his trust for Mulino dates back 30 years.
“Mulino seems a little tough, but he is a good guy, serious, and is the only one prepared to take on this great challenge and knows how the economy works to lift the country,” Martinelli said in a video broadcast to supporters at Mulino’s campaign close.
A maritime law attorney who graduated from Tulane University in New Orleans, Mulino became known as a private business leader who took part in a civil movement against the dictatorship of Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega, who was ousted by an American invasion on Dec. 20, 1989.
He acted as vice minister of foreign affairs in the 1989-1994 administration of President Guillermo Endara, who took office after the fall of Noriega and the end of the Panamanian military regime. Mulino later remained in charge of the country’s international policy in the last part of that administration.
Mulino remained active in politics and more than a decade later backed Martinelli in the election that the supermarket magnate won in 2009. Mulino was appointed minister of the interior and justice, later taking the reins of the public security office.
Mulino says one of the achievements during that time was to “recover” a swath of Panama on the border with Colombia, known as the Darien Gap, which “was in the hands of the narco-guerrillas” of the neighboring country.
As president, he has promised to stop soaring levels of migration through the Darien jungles, where more than a half million people crossed last year, though experts question the viability of his plan due to the sheer quantities of vulnerable people traveling through the passage.
“I will make the effort to end this migratory crisis in our territory with respect for human rights and with sincere international participation,” Mulino said at the closing of his campaign last week.
As security minister, he was also the target of harsh criticisms following police repression of a protest of Indigenous banana growers in the northern provinces of Bocas del Toro and Chiriqui in 2010. The crackdown left two dead and more than 100 injured by pellet shots, among them some with eye injuries.
“He was quite severe in controlling social protests,” Panamanian political analyst Rodrigo Noriega told The Associated Press before the election. “There are a lot of unknowns about him.”
Presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino, of the Achieving Goals party, celebrates after winning on the day of the general electing in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino, of the Achieving Goals party, center, waves to supporters after winning on the day of the general electing in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino, left, stands beside Marta Linares de Martinelli, the wife of former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli, as he addresses supporters after winning on the day of the general electing in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino, of the Achieving Goals party, hold hands with a supporter after winning on the day of the general electing in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino, of the Achieving Goals party, hold hands with a supporter after winning on the day of the general electing in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino, of the Achieving Goals party, celebrates after winning on the day of the general electing in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Achieving Goals presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino arrives to Nicaraguan Embassy after voting during a general election in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Achieving Goals presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino leaves after voting during a general election in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Achieving Goals presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino holds his ballot during a general election in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Achieving Goals presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino marks his ballot as he chooses his preferences during a general election in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino, of the Achieving Goals party, speaks to supporters after winning on the day of the general electing in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino, of the Achieving Goals party, is surrounded by supporters after winning on the day of the general electing in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
