Arne Slot hasn’t just been taking inspiration from Liverpool’s on-pitch routines; he’s also adopted a change that Pep Guardiola once made at both Barcelona and Manchester City.
Change is a natural part of football when a new coach takes over. Thankfully, Slot’s adjustments aren’t about overhauling the culture to rescue the team’s fortunes. Instead, his approach is more about evolving and fine-tuning what’s already in place.
One established routine under Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool was having the team stay in a local hotel the night before home games. Initially, this was at the Hope Street Hotel and later at the Titanic Hotel. Slot, however, has chosen not to stick to this tradition. Instead, before their home matches, like the win against Brentford or the pre-season friendly against Sevilla, the players slept at home.
The next morning, the squad gathered for a team meeting and then traveled together on the team bus to Anfield.
Slot’s decision seems to have been inspired by Guardiola, who introduced a similar change during his time at Barcelona and Manchester City. Guardiola once explained, “No one spends the night before going to work locked in a hotel. We try to keep things as normal as possible. If a player doesn’t rest well, it’s on them, and that will affect their performance and job security. I judge my players by their work, not their personal lives. I’m not a policeman. I go to bed at 10 PM, and I don’t feel the need to check up on them. That’s why I’d rather they be at home, not isolated in a hotel with nothing to do. It’s about using common sense.”
This approach had a notable impact in Barcelona. In Guillem Balague’s biography Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning, legendary midfielder Xavi shared how staying at home the night before games gave the team a newfound freedom. He said, “Two of the most important changes were moving to the training ground and scrapping the hotel stay.”
While Klopp likely had his reasons for keeping the team together in a hotel before games, Guardiola’s perspective also holds merit. For Liverpool’s players this season, it means at least 24 extra nights at home—when considering home fixtures—alongside an already packed schedule filled with European and international commitments. These extra nights at home could contribute to a more balanced home life, which can only benefit Slot’s squad in the long run.
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