AZ sack head coach Arne Slot despite undefeated record

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 17 May 2021 21:43 BST
• 2 min read

Eredivisie side AZ have announced that they have sacked head coach Arne Slot – despite the club enjoying a nine-match unbeaten run to start the season.

Slot is regarded as one of the best up-and-coming coaches in the Netherlands. He finds himself out of work, however, after the media linked him with Feyenoord.

Dick Advocaat, who is currently in the Feyenoord hotseat, has announced that he will stand down at the end of the season.

News broke on Friday that Slot was the hot favourite to take over and hours later he found himself out of work.

“We spoke with Arne Slot in response to the earlier reports. As a club we have elected for an immediate departure. At AZ we want a head coach who is fully focused on AZ,” said their technical director Max Huiberts in a club statement.

“We would like to thank Arne Slot for the past three-and-a-half years, the successes that we have achieved together and we wish him success in his further career.”

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Slot had achieved the unlikely feat of having AZ battling with the Netherlands’ traditional big guns. Last term, they were joint top of the table when it was cancelled due to the coronavirus crisis, having beaten Ajax a couple of weeks before play stopped.

This term, they are undefeated through nine matches. Indeed, they are in the midst of a four-match winning streak domestically and are going well in the Europa League. In a pool that contains La Liga leaders Real Sociedad and Italian giants Napoli, they are third.

A win over bottom side Rijeka in Croatia will carry them through to the last 32 of the competition, though they will have to do so without Slot.