Liverpool supporters already know John Heitinga for his time enjoying at Everton, however the 40-year-old is now a coach and has joined Arne Slot‘s Reds.
Seven years teaching at Ajax, rising by the youth ranks to turn out to be caretaker supervisor, led to Heitinga’s transfer to West Ham in 2023, the place he turned assistant supervisor.
With David Moyes leaving this summer season, although, Heitinga moved on too and is now becoming a member of Liverpool’s teaching workers as an assistant coach.
Right here, Dutch soccer journalist Elko Born (@Elko_B) discusses Heitinga, his teaching profession and what he can deliver to Slot’s workers.
What do you assume attracted Slot & Liverpool to Heitinga?
I feel it’s necessary that he’s nonetheless fairly younger, and that his enjoying years are nonetheless not that way back.
Clearly, he is aware of England and the Premier League from his expertise as a participant as effectively. I feel that’s very, essential, his expertise in that regard. He is aware of the town of Liverpool as effectively.
I do assume that it was possibly not his tactical abilities as a coach that satisfied Slot to get him, however I do assume that Slot might be impressed by the best way he is ready to speak to gamers to construct relationships with them, to narrate to them.
He’s nonetheless fairly younger however I feel on a human degree, Heitinga is kind of gifted and it’s an necessary talent to have as a supervisor.
And that, mixed along with his expertise as a participant within the Premier League, I feel that’s a really helpful talent set to have on board at Liverpool.
How did he rise to turn out to be Ajax’s caretaker supervisor?
I feel on the time, as a senior participant he did take up a little bit of a management position within the Ajax squad round his closing stretch at Ajax.
He began working within the Ajax youth academy fairly shortly after retiring as a participant, so I feel that ambition has at all times been fairly apparent for him.
For a very long time, it appeared like he was going to turn out to be Ajax supervisor sometime ultimately, and clearly he was caretaker boss for a short while. However ultimately, it didn’t fairly work out for him the best way he had hoped.
His stint as Ajax supervisor, as a caretaker, it wasn’t that unhealthy. He turned the caretaker boss in a horrible season for Ajax, one among their worst seasons ever.
When he got here in as caretaker, he did handle to deliver one thing again for the primary workforce, get just a few outcomes and regular the ship for Ajax that yr.
However ultimately, it wasn’t sufficient to persuade the Ajax management to maintain him on as first workforce supervisor.
Might this then be a stepping stone prefer it was for Pep Lijnders?
I’m unsure but. It might be a stepping stone for him. He at all times needed to turn out to be Ajax supervisor however when he did turn out to be Ajax supervisor as a caretaker it didn’t work out as effectively for him as he had hoped.
It will need to have been such an enormous skilled disappointment for him. He hasn’t mentioned a lot about it, however I’m wondering how he feels personally now?
Does he really feel like, ‘OK, possibly I’m too younger to be a primary workforce supervisor, possibly I want extra expertise as an assistant someplace earlier than taking on that senior management position in a membership?’
Or possibly did he uncover for himself, if not for anybody else, that possibly being the primary workforce supervisor and the man in cost doesn’t go well with him as a lot as he would have appreciated?
Possibly he’s extra of a coach, and possibly he must be an assistant someplace, maybe in Liverpool. And possibly that’s only a job that fits his talent set higher.
What are a few of his traits as a coach?
I do assume he’s very energetic on the sidelines – he’s fairly a passionate man. He’s solely comparatively lately retired from soccer.
He’s nonetheless very a lot emotionally concerned with what his gamers are doing, which I feel can clearly be an excellent factor for a coach or a supervisor.
It’s a mode that fits him, to be very concerned, to be emotionally concerned as effectively. I feel that’s his energy as a coach. I feel he’s superb at regarding gamers, at constructing relationships with the workforce and a squad of gamers.
I feel the gamers at Ajax appreciated him on a private degree very a lot, so this relationship facet of teaching, I feel that’s the place his abilities actually lie and possibly not within the extra tactical facet of being a soccer supervisor.
Thanks once more to Elko Born for his perception on Heitinga’s teaching profession. You’ll be able to comply with Elko on X @Elko_B
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