Most coaches in world football could not turn down the chance to work for a club as big as Liverpool.
Especially one who, to that point, had only held two permanent head coach roles in their career, both outside of Europe’s top five leagues.
But when Arne Slot was trying to assemble his team as he prepared to join the Reds, one candidate he was keen on had more pressing matters in his current job.
Important reason behind Arne Slot rejection when he first joined Liverpool
Slot arrived at Anfield with a plethora of Dutch coaches he was familiar with back in his home country.
He took John Heitinga there, who was last an assistant at Tottenham Hotspur, and attempted to take Etienne Reijnen, who had been an analyst at Feyenoord, but he was blocked due to work permit issues.
Slot turned to Marino Pusic at some point in his recruitment drive, who he’d also worked with at Feyenoord, but the Dutch-Croatian was at that point the manager at Shakhtar Donetsk, from war-torn Ukraine, and felt he couldn’t leave his position.
“Arne asked if I wanted to join him at Liverpool,” Pusic told Voetbal International. “I considered it a great honour, but it didn’t feel right to leave.
“No club in the world has performed as well as Shakhtar during wartime: a national title, two national cups, and thirteen points in two Champions League campaigns.
Many at the club have dealt with tragic news together as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, giving Pusic a role he views as greater than just football management.
“You are talking about life and death together,” he added. “That is how you build a close bond.”
In FourFourTwo’s opinion, Pusic’s reasons make perfect sense.
Helping a club in such a difficult time will undoubtedly foster a sense of duty for those at the club, and Shakhtar is no doubt still an escape for many going through such difficult times.
Pusic would likely have loved to take a role at Liverpool, but some things are more important than career progression.
