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Arne Slot's dad has already told Liverpool boss why he will not attend PSV game

Arne Slot head coach of Liverpool during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD8 training and press conference at Philips Stadion on January 28, 2025 in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
-Credit:Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images


Liverpool boss Arne Slot will be able to count upon great support from the travelling Reds as always against PSV this evening, despite the lack of jeopardy. However, his own father has bluntly confirmed that he will not be in attendance.

It will be a stress-free evening for Slot in Eindhoven, not at all like the trips he faced when vying for the league title at Feyenoord. Thanks to seven wins out of seven in the Champions League so far, progress is already secured, with the only question whether Liverpool will finish the league phase in first or second.

As Slot has explained, that will not make any difference to the favorability of the draw Liverpool receives later in the competition. So key stars like Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk have been granted the night off.

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A low-stress, feel-good occasion, perhaps with some outings for some of the most promising Academy talents. What's not to like?

Even so, Slot's father will not be making the most of his son's return to the Netherlands. The Liverpool boss has recounted a conversation they had, where his dad confirmed he would not be in attendance:

"My father will not be here," he told a press conference. "He says that he can watch the match on television much better, he sees many more things.

"He is from Bergentheim, where I was born. What I don't miss in the Netherlands is the amount of traffic that we have in this country.

"So I don't think that he [would have] to drive two and a half hours but much longer than that. So I don't think that he will be watching with too many nerves from the couch at home."

Cody Gakpo of Liverpool FC during Liverpool FC's MD-1 press conference prior to the Champions League game against PSV at Phillips Stadium on Jan. 28, 2025 in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
As a former PSV player, perhaps Cody Gakpo will have more luck convincing friends and family to attend the Liverpool match. -Credit:ANP via Getty Images

The traffic is a brilliantly workaday reason to miss your son's triumphant homecoming. And if Slot Sr prefers the television coverage, it's clear Rio Ferdinand hasn't made it to the Dutch channels just yet.

It will be interesting to know if Slot's dad even picks the Liverpool match. After all, 16 games are on at once as a result of the new league phase format, and this one has some of the lowest competitive stakes.

Two of the 16 games are bona fide dead rubbers, with nothing but pride on the line. PSV technically still needs a point to be assured of a play-off spot, and could also theoretically sneak into the top eight in a similarly unlikely sequence of events, but both Liverpool and its Dutch opponent more or less know their fates already.

Meanwhile, Manchester City knows that nothing but a win will see it avoid early elimination, while PSG faces a battle as well. PSV vs Liverpool isn't the obvious spectacle of the evening.

Still, try telling someone like Trey Nyoni that this game doesn't matter. Slot's dad might not fancy the traffic from Bergentheim, but Liverpool supporters will be roaring on their team to a potential eighth win out of eight.