Liverpool have added a familiar name to the Merseyside to their coaching team with the appointment of John Heitinga as Arne Slot’s first-team assistant coach.
Having had strong ties to Everton in the Premier League playing history, nearly 140 games after arriving in 2009, John Heitinga has now switched from blue to red by moving onto the Liverpool coaching staff.
Jonny Heitinga’s transfer would certainly be an interesting one, given the mixed receptions of others who have made the switch between Merseyside rivals over the years.
Former Liverpool assistant manager Sammy Lee was given a cold reception when he joined Everton under Sam Allardyce, and Rafa Benitez has received plenty of hostility from Everton fans since becoming their manager in June 2021.
Yet, something might be different with Jonny Heitinga, simply because he didn’t look that loyal to Everton at the time.
Despite being a regular under David Moyes at Everton, Heitinga refused to renew his contract during the summer of 2013.
He put his future in jeopardy, which resulted in a lack of games and World Cup concerns for his manager at the time, the now Netherlands coach, Louis van Gaal.
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He recently disclosed that he even appeared in majority of the game of Dutch national team from year 2004 to 2012, which included qualification of World Cup 2014.
His playing time in Everton after rejection of the new contract also had some impact on his national team playing time.
Heitinga eventually got transferred to Fulham in January 2014 as a sort of desperate measure for more playing time and consequently having a shot at the World Cup squad.
Last but not least, Van Gaal didn’t pick him at all for the same reason-linked lack of play time.
As he sat thousands of miles away in Greece, Heitinga watched the World Cup feeling both happy for his friends and disappointed that he had missed the boat.
Heitinga never turned out for the national side again, and two years after leaving Everton, he quit professional football.
He has subsequently tried professional coaching.
His getting into the hall of the assistant coaches in Liverpool is the turning point in his coaching career.
Slot, and the Liverpool faithful will be praying that his transition will be better than what Benitez went through to get to Everton.
In summary, the knowledge that Heitinga possesses and his experience in Merseyside football make him a valuable asset, and his prospective coaching is rather a plus to the coaching bench at Liverpool.
