‘Aqui, aqui’ came the order from the manager as he loudly summoned Darwin Nunez over in Spanish.
A kiss on the cheek, a pat on the bum and a tactical debrief later, the Uruguayan was back on his way with a beaming smile and soon he was charging around the Anfield pitch in his usual style – like a golden retriever chasing a bouncing ball.
The manager was Johnny Heitinga, leading Liverpool that day as Arne Slot and fellow assistant Sipke Hulshoff were both suspended for letting tempers get the better of them in a Merseyside derby that descended into chaos the week before.
And this episode was just one of many that highlight how Heitinga, who this week joined Thomas Frank’s backroom team at Tottenham on a two-and-a-half-year deal, quickly finds a friendly relationship with all players. Down with the kids, some may say.
Indeed, ask any Liverpool player and they only have good things to say about the 42-year-old coach, who worked under Slot and was credited with playing a major role in their Premier League title triumph last year.
‘John has been a really big help,’ said Ryan Gravenberch, perhaps his biggest success story. In an interview back in May, the Dutchman – who first met Heitinga at Ajax – detailed how the coach was his ‘mentor’ who helped him turn from a box-to-box midfielder into a No 6.
Johnny Heitinga (left) has joined Tottenham on a two-and-a-half-year deal, becoming assistant coach under Thomas Frank
Heitinga was brilliant with Liverpool players including Darwin Nunez during their surge to the Premier League title last year
Hours and hours were spent in the analysis room studying clips and improving, eventually moulding Gravenberch into the Premier League young player of the season. The campaign before, the midfielder barely had a sniff of a starting berth.
Young defender Jarell Quansah added: ‘I can always lean into him (Heitinga). He was a centre back with a great career so I can always pick his brains. He often comes to me too, maybe I am trying to do stuff by myself but he will come to me and show me clips, help me find a positive.’
Heitinga was excellent in the one-to-one tutoring of players and spent hours each week showing clips to stars to help them improve. Like a school teacher, he would always find things to work on – but sandwich that with positives to make the player grow in confidence.
His grasp of several languages helped Slot and Co get their message across, with Heitinga particularly influential in Luis Diaz’s transformation from a winger to a goal-scoring No 9.
Spurs, with just two league wins in their last 12, need all the help they can get right now but Heitinga could be just the tonic to help Frank rescue the situation in north London.
Despite Slot’s attempts to make him stay for one more year, the Reds head coach knew Heitinga simply could not turn down the chance to manage Ajax when the opportunity arose this summer – so the former Everton defender went to the Amsterdam club.
It did not work out, though. Dutch sources say that was because he is a top-class coach who thrives on the training ground but maybe struggles with the day-to-day stress of being the manager, with all the other duties it entails, such as dealing with the media.
‘His dismissal from Ajax was, of course, a huge blow for a club boy like him,’ Rob Jansen, his agent, explains. ‘But there are two types of coaches. The coach who is knocked out and stays down. And the coach who shakes his head twice, learns from the past and continues with extra baggage. John clearly belongs to the latter group. That doesn’t take away from the pain, though.
Heitinga watches on intently during Tottenham training this week as Pedro Porro prepares for Saturday’s London derby with West Ham
Heitinga’s stint as Ajax manager didn’t work out, with Dutch sources saying he thrives on the training ground but perhaps struggles with the day-to-day stress of being No1
Heitinga was a tough-tackling centre back in his playing days for clubs like Everton. ‘I always pick his brains,’ said former Liverpool defender Jarell Quansah
‘It’s old news that many others and I asked John whether it was wise to rejoin Ajax. But his love for Ajax is so great that he did it anyway. In hindsight, it was an almost impossible task, because the problems at that club run so deep that no one could have succeeded.’
Frank, who demonstrated he is a top-class manager at Brentford, may lack some traits that Heitinga brings, such as how he instantly commands respect with players. He also speaks fluent Spanish, owing to his stint playing at Atletico Madrid.
With 87 caps to his name, the 2010 World Cup runner-up has played under many top managers such as Louis van Gaal and alongside some Dutch greats. He believes in the typical Ajax style of play, with some modern tweaks.
After retiring from playing, he linked up with his former Everton boss David Moyes at West Ham and the Scottish manager has previously spoken extremely highly of his coaching style.
He is respected across Merseyside and, speaking on Friday, Slot said: ‘Johnny, on a personal level, is a great human being with a lovely family. His input last season was very important for us.’
Heitinga married into a sporting family. His wife, Charlotte, is the sister of former Liverpool and Chelsea winger Bolo Zenden, while their father Pierre is a former judoka and is central to Dutch TV coverage of martial arts, covering nine Olympic Games for state broadcaster NOS.
Before Frank – who initally contacted Heitinga about the move in December – phoned him to ask him to join, he had been approached for several other jobs. Championship side West Brom held an interest in appointing him as first-team manager. Spurs and Frank believe Heitinga adds something they are lacking.
Given the Danish boss is under pressure at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, some wonder if Heitinga is making a move to be the eventual successor. But a well-placed source in the Netherlands insists: ‘No chance, he is not doing as we say here, “Sawing the legs from under the chair”.’
‘Johnny is a great human being with a lovely family and his input last season was very important for us,’ said Slot on Friday
Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch credits Heitinga with being a ‘mentor’ who helped improve his game dramatically
Heitinga had strong references from outside Spurs, like Frank’s good friend Moyes. It is understood Frank spoke to the Everton boss to gauge his opinion of Heitinga, and Moyes said yesterday: ‘He is very good. Johnny is a good coach and a good boy, I wish him well.’ Tottenham goalkeeper coach Fabian Otte has also worked with him before, at Liverpool.
Micky van de Ven, who shares an agent with Gravenberch, may have heard good things – while fellow Dutchman Xavi Simons will be well aware of Heitinga, too.
But the best reference probably comes from title-winning manager Slot, who said last season: ‘I couldn’t have wished for more from John. If I say “very talented” I do not rate him high enough because he is more than that already.
‘He’s still young but grew into our staff from the start in a very good manner. He has the same idea about football – that is also why I chose him to come to us. But the way he is with the boys is very positive. Almost all the things we do, we do together.’
