John Heitinga is a name that is more than familiar to football fans on Merseyside . It was across Stanley Park though that the new Liverpool assistant coach made his name in the Premier League .
The former defender spent nearly five years at Everton after making the move to Goodison Park in 2009, where he made a total of 140 appearances. Now though, he has swapped blue for red as he joins Arne Slot’s coaching staff at Anfield .
It will be interesting to see what kind of reaction he gets in his new job. Liverpool’s rivals have not taken too kindly to those that have made the opposite move in recent years.
READ MORE: Liverpool coach banned player from training for being two minutes late as clear warning sent
READ MORE: Why Liverpool chose not to compete with Manchester United for $67m Leny Yoro transfer
Former Reds midfielder and assistant manager Sammy Lee got a frosty reception when he followed Sam Allardyce to Goodison. That was nothing compared to the reception Rafa Benitez got when he became manager of the Toffees in 2021 though, with the Everton faithful never warming to the Spaniard, much to the amusement of those back at Anfield.
Heitinga’s loyalties were perhaps not as prominent as the two aforementioned examples, which might well work in his favor as he begins his role at Liverpool. The former defender though has admitted to regretting not extending his stay at the Reds’ rivals.
Despite being a regular under David Moyes, Heitinga rejected the offer of a new contract in the summer of 2013. He subsequently found himself falling out of favor, with then-Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal raising questions over his spot for the World Cup in 2014.
“From 2004 ’til 2012, I played almost all the matches in the Dutch national team, especially the tournaments, and then he [Van Gaal] became the manager,” Heitinga told The Athletic in 2022.
“Most of the qualification games for the World Cup 2014 I was playing, but I was in a situation with Everton that I didn’t extend, I didn’t sign a new contract.
“That’s one thing that I regret, it was better for me to sign a new deal with Everton. So I didn’t play that much.
“Van Gaal said, ‘You have to make a move’. That’s why in January I made the move to Fulham. But in the end he was just clear, he said I didn’t play enough. ‘I would choose for someone else’.
“But from the first moment he was so honest with me. So it was not a surprise.
“Of course I was not happy I was not selected for the World Cup. I was watching it in Greece on holiday and they beat Spain 5-1. So I was really happy for the boys, but I was not so happy for myself because I wanted to be there.”
Heitinga wouldn’t make another appearance for his country, and just two years after leaving Everton, he announced his retirement from playing. Since then, he has established himself as an up-and-coming coach, with Liverpool his next stop – Slot will be hoping he doesn’t get the sort of reaction Benitez received across Stanley Park.
Most Popular
Comments / 0