Arne Slot once left Jose Mourinho “shouting and swearing” in his face in an angry confrontation while at Feyenoord, and the Dutchman “just laughed at him.”
Slot has kept his cool for the most part in his first season at Liverpool, though there have been flashpoints – not least his red card against Everton – that showed the emotion behind a title-winner.
It has certainly taken time to get used to his personality after nine-and-a-half years with Jurgen Klopp in the Anfield dugout.
But those watching on from the Netherlands will have been well aware of how Slot conducts himself, with De Telegraaf journalist Marcel van der Kraan one of those who has followed him closest.
"Mourinho stormed into the dressing room…" ?
Dutch journalist Marcel van der Kraan recalls when Jose Mourinho confronted Arne Slot after a heated European tie in Rome ?#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/KHxjI9amw1
— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) May 13, 2025
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily podcast, Van der Kraan recalled a moment when Slot was confronted in the dressing room by a furious Mourinho.
“I was there on a European Cup night and he’d really upset Mourinho,” he explained.
“He told the Italian press when they asked him ‘how many times have you studied Mourinho’s team here in Italy’, he said ‘well, I tend not to look at Mourinho’s team because I get nothing out of it’.
“[He said] ‘I’d rather watch Pep Guardiola’s team, because that is the style I follow, that is the way I want to play football’.
“Obviously Mourinho had picked that up and after the match – which went to extra time and only by a minute or so Mourinho managed to go through and avoid the knockout – Mourinho stormed in the dressing room towards Slot and had a real go at him.
“Shouting, swearing and ‘go watch Guardiola if you like, you’ll never win anything’, and Slot wasn’t even bothered.
“He just laughed at him.
“I could see him thinking, ‘well, you can shout what you want, and yeah maybe fair enough you won some trophies, but I play football the way I want and my next club will play exactly the same as I’m playing here’.”
The night in question was a Europa League quarter-final during the 2022/23 campaign which, having won the first leg 1-0, saw Feyenoord take a 2-1 aggregate lead over Mourinho’s Roma into the closing stages.
A goal from Paulo Dybala cancelled out Igor Paixao’s strike as the game on the night went to 2-1 and forced extra time, with Roma scoring twice in extra time to seal a 4-2 aggregate victory.
Mourinho’s assistant, Salvatore Foti, was shown a red card during the first half and Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez was also dismissed at the end of the game.
It was a fiery occasion which had the fingerprints of an abrasive manager all over it – but for Slot, it had already blown over by the time he reached the dressing room.
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