Liverpool supporters already know John Heitinga for his time taking part in 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 means of the youth ranks to change into caretaker supervisor, led to Heitinga’s transfer to West Ham in 2023, the place he grew to become assistant supervisor.
With David Moyes leaving this summer time, although, Heitinga moved on too and is now becoming a member of Liverpool’s teaching employees as an assistant coach.
Right here, Dutch soccer journalist Elko Born (@Elko_B) discusses Heitinga, his teaching profession and what he can carry to Slot’s employees.
What do you assume attracted Slot & Liverpool to Heitinga?
I feel it’s necessary that he’s nonetheless fairly younger, and that his taking part in 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 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 way in which he is ready to discuss to gamers to construct relationships with them, to narrate to them.
He’s nonetheless fairly younger however I feel on a human stage, Heitinga is kind of gifted and it’s an necessary ability to have as a supervisor.
And that, mixed together with his expertise as a participant within the Premier League, I feel that’s a really beneficial ability set to have on board at Liverpool.
How did he rise to change into 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 rapidly after retiring as a participant, so I feel that ambition has all the time been fairly apparent for him.
For a very long time, it seemed like he was going to change into Ajax supervisor sometime ultimately, and clearly he was caretaker boss for a short time. However ultimately, it didn’t fairly work out for him the way in which he had hoped.
His stint as Ajax supervisor, as a caretaker, it wasn’t that dangerous. He grew to become the caretaker boss in a horrible season for Ajax, one in every of their worst seasons ever.
When he got here in as caretaker, he did handle to carry one thing again for the primary crew, get a number of outcomes and regular the ship for Ajax that 12 months.
However ultimately, it wasn’t sufficient to persuade the Ajax management to maintain him on as first crew supervisor.
Might this then be a stepping stone prefer it was for Pep Lijnders?
I’m undecided but. It could possibly be a stepping stone for him. He all the time needed to change into Ajax supervisor however when he did change into 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 stated a lot about it, however I ponder how he feels personally now?
Does he really feel like, ‘OK, possibly I’m too younger to be a primary crew 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 crew supervisor and the man in cost doesn’t swimsuit him as a lot as he would have preferred?
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 ability set higher.
What are a few of his traits as a coach?
I do assume he’s very lively on the sidelines – he’s fairly a passionate man. He’s solely comparatively not too long ago 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 method 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 excellent at referring to gamers, at constructing relationships with the crew and a squad of gamers.
I feel the gamers at Ajax preferred him on a private stage 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 side of being a soccer supervisor.
Thanks once more to Elko Born for his perception on Heitinga’s teaching profession. You may observe Elko on X @Elko_B
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