Feyenoord are set to announce Danish manager Brian Priske as their new head coach, replacing Arne Slot in the lead role after two years at Sparta Prague.
Priske will take over as head coach at Feyenoord, three weeks after Slot’s switch to Liverpool was officially announced.
It comes following two impressive seasons in charge at Sparta Prague, during which he took on Jurgen Klopp‘s Reds in two group games in the Europa League.
Those fixtures brought 5-1 and 6-1 defeats home and away respectively, though Liverpool were overwhelming favourites and it clearly did not damage Priske’s reputation.
In fact, Priske summed it up in his post-match press conference following the 6-1 loss at Anfield, admitting “we never faced something like this.”
“Liverpool is a Champions League team and they should be playing in the Champions League,” the Dane told reporters.
He will now be managing in the Champions League himself, with Feyenoord finishing second in the Eredivisie in Slot’s final campaign and therefore qualifying for the league stage.
That means he could come up against the Reds in a new expanded competition, with each club set for eight ‘group’ games against different opponents.
Liverpool are already guaranteed to be in Pot 1 for the draw, with Feyenoord in Pot 3; teams will play two opponents from each pot – one home, one away – before splitting for a traditional knockout phase.
An insight into Priske’s management came in footage of his speech to Sparta players before kickoff in the 5-1 defeat, as he emphasised the “respect” Liverpool showed in their lineup.
“No Salah and no Van Dijk, the rest is good quality. I see respect, respect for you guys for the lineup they bring.
“It is respect and credit to you guys, they came here to fight and to play. And they take this fucking shit seriously, I think it’s a credit to us and you guys.
“Despite what they put out, I want to see you guys play our football. Have the courage to play, the structure to play – you know exactly how we want to play.”
Priske began coaching as assistant at Danish clubs Midtjylland and Copenhagen, eventually taking over as manager of Midtjylland before spells with Royal Antwerp and then Sparta Prague.
He has faced Liverpool four times as a manager, with three losses and a draw, while he lost all three of his clashes with the Reds as a player at Portsmouth.
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