The Liverpool Manager Arne Slot praised Richard Hughes’ work in Bournemouth before the sports director left the South Coast Club for Merseyside in summer.
Hughes did more than 100 Premier League appearances for Portsmouth before ending his career outside the top flight with Bournemouth. The former midfielder of Atalanta and Arsenal Academy spent a decade as the technical director of the cherries and supervised an unprecedented round of five seasons in a row at the top of the football pyramid in England.
While Eddie Howe Bournemouth’s talisman leader left in 2020, Hughes remained in 2023 and created Andoni Iraola in 2023 before explaining Liverpool’s sports director last summer.
“Richard left this club in a very, very good place,” said Slot, who came to Merseyside at the same time as Hughes, before Liverpool traveled to Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon.
“It is no surprise for me that they are able to compete with every single team in the league,” continued Slot. “You have a lot of quality that Richard created. He has hired a fantastic manager. Justin [Kluivert] is one of the many examples in which Richard deserves a lot of recognition. You need quality and Richard brought that there. “
Despite its connection with the cherries, the slot did not rely on Hughes’ insider knowledge of the club. “He tells us what we already see,” the Dutch coach flinched one of his shoulders. “It is not so important when he tells me things that I don’t know whether a player is married and has children who will not influence the game tomorrow. But he definitely sees the things we have because of her playing style and manager Seeing is the same.
Bournemouth has not been beaten in any competition since November and has already claimed several remarkable scalp in her home in Vitality Stadium this season. “It’s one of the most difficult games,” warned Slot. “You have already shown by beating Arsenal there and beating the city there. You lost to Chelsea, but have a penalty and only added seven goals at home.
“The second half [of Liverpool’s 3-0 victory over Bournemouth in September] We played against you who showed me that you are a serious team. If you are 3-0 and can compete so hard in the second half and work so hard, she tells a lot about the team’s mentality. “
Although Bournemouth had lost in Anfield, he collected 19 shots, 12 of which came from the box – no other team could not get better this season in any meeting with Liverpool.