It sounds strange, doesn’t it? It’s the first piece I’ve written since Jürgen Klopp announced his departure at the end of the season, and it’s the only thing I’ve been thinking about.
Even 90 minutes of absolutely perfect football against Norwich took place against the backdrop of an overly emotional Anfield. Moving on after nine years is going to be difficult. It raises a lot of questions. The departures of Pep Ljinders, Vitor Matos and Peter Krawietz have added to the pressure.
Many thought Ljinders was preparing for the lead role at the club when Klopp made the decision to leave; We didn’t expect that day to come so soon. After all, the former NEC coach took part in the Carabao Cup press conferences. , his influence on the team is greater and he even attends most of the educational sessions. But the breakdown of Liverpool’s German technical talisman and his team means he is a blank slate for anyone who arrives.
At the time of writing, there is one man on everyone’s mind: Xabi Alonso. It all makes a lot of sense, especially if you love witty stories. Alonso spent five years on Merseyside, from 2004 to 2009. in Istanbul, scoring the first of his team’s 3 goals. He adored at the club, before leaving for Real Madrid for £30 million. This love was reciprocated through Spanish.
– Friday, 26 January 2024
Alonso is an exceptional footballer, one of the most productive deep midfielders we’ve seen in recent times. Maybe he’s on his way to becoming a better coach. Well, maybe that’s a bit hyperbole, but the symptoms are encouraging.
He currently holds the top spot in the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen (nicknamed Neverkusen because he never managed to win a league title), threatening to end Bayern Munich’s 11 seasons as German champions.
Despite an early mistake in the 0-0 draw at home to Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday, they are two points ahead of their Bavarian rivals. They also rank as neutrals’ favourites this season, thanks to their eye-pleasing football logo (heading Bayern’s monopoly doesn’t hurt their cause either).
Alonso arrived in October last season, where he replaced a Leverkusen side that was 17th in the table. He temporarily replaced the prestige quo, hitting the team with a three-man formula at the back (they had played almost exclusively with a 4-2-3-1 before).
The effects were temporarily replaced and Die Werkself recovered to finish sixth in the league and qualify for the semi-finals of the Europa League. This summer, Alonso was the first, and he was able to sign players (and bring Florian Wirtz back from injury) to shape what he was looking to do. Granit Xhaka, Victor Boniface, Jonas Hoffman, Alejandro Grimaldo and many more came here and made a huge impact.
Let’s start with how they were delivered. Alonso prefers three full-backs, with Edmond Tapsoba, Jonathan Tah and Odilon Kossounou as his first choices. They then have a four-man midfield with two wingers on either side of Granit Xhaka and Exequiel Palacios as a double pivot. On offense, Jonas Hoffman and Wirtz play as two number 10 tens, Boniface, who leads the line.
It looks a little something like this…
The idea is to overload the central areas with bodies, creating space for Grimaldo and Jeremie Frimpong – two natural full/wingbacks who now operate almost exclusively as wide midfielders (asked to cover their flanks both in attack and defence).
In attack, Leverkusen don’t specifically rely on a single line to create their chances, but there is a clever balance in the offensive line to create their chances. Grimaldo is a perfect passer and a football passer, Frimpong is one of the fastest players. in world football and excels in 1v1 situations. Wirtz is amazing in each and every way.
They currently rank third in expected goals in open play in the Bundesliga (behind Bayern and Stuttgart) with 32. 56, or 34.
There have been rumours this week that Alonso is a control-obsessed coach, like his compatriots Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta, but that doesn’t show the full picture.
Opta’s The Analyst has a handy “Team Sequence Styles” image that shows us how groups play in a league based on the direct speed of their attacks and passes consistent with the attacking sequence. Lately, Leverkusen is ranked as the slowest and most complex team in the league. (For context, Liverpool take a look at the fastest and most direct teams in the Premier League. )
One thing you’re sure to see if you look at Leverkusen is the one-two in the danger areas, especially between Wirtz and (now injured) Boniface. These quick combos can help change the team’s speed from slow to fast in an instant, catching the opponent off guard. Wirtz sent a wall pass to the feet of Boniface, who was then physically strong enough to hold his defender and direct the ball into the path of Wirtz, who made a penetrating run.
Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala – Professional photographs.
Boniface also likes to go into wide spaces on the left (as does Darwin Nunez) and get the ball, from there they also use a similar ‘play’: Boniface will put it at Wirtz’s feet more centrally before making a backward curve run. the full-back or through it and win the ball back, avoiding defenders in an instant.
Yes, there is more “controlled” ownership in Alonso’s current team, but he is also thriving in his team by creating chaotic moments. Leverkusen have 3 natural centre-backs (although they are all very good on the ball and bring their own merit in ownership). ) to create a forged base on the flank.
In front of them is a relentless unity of the utmost urgency. No team has committed more turnovers than Leverkusen this season with 208 (second-highest ranked Bayern with 18 and four). No team has committed more turnovers with a shot result than them either, with 39 shots and four goals scored.
Yes and no, and that’s okay.
Although Leverkusen and Liverpool play other styles and have other ideas, there are crossovers. Liverpool are arguably the most productive counter-pressing team in the world since Klopp’s arrival and are among the most productive in their elegance in this department. The triggers could be others, you have players in the existing squad who come from the very quick tactical commands of Roberto De Zerbi from Brighton and Red Bull.
Possession is the biggest question. Alonso’s Leverkusen use a very different approach (a tight central unit with two wide midfielders) to create width. This is in contrast to Liverpool, who use Alexander-Arnold as their opposite number in a double pivot and create a lot of width by asking any of their ‘No’s’. 8 to retreat into wide spaces while the wingers make penetrating runs into the box.
However, if we go back to when Alonso was at Real Sociedad B (who play in the Spanish senior leagues), we would see another team besides Leverkusen. La Real would prefer to use a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1, employing an urgent competitive formula led by the midfielder to win the ball back up front and play fast football between the lines and defences.
Sounds a bit like Liverpool, right?
© Proshots – Xabi Alonso
The truth is, although there is a limited sample of less than two full seasons of Alonso as a coach and what his favourite set-up is, there is evidence of his adaptability to the teams he has at his disposal and his strengths. He may simply generate width with his wingers in Spain, but he may not find it in Germany, where he discovered a team with an athletic phenomenon made up of a wide player at Frimpong and fair central operators, so he adapted.
Alonso has his fundamentals as a coach, there have been regular themes of competitive pressure, wall-two and a lot of movement back in his career so far. However, it has been proven that it is not tied to a single system, to a single way of doing things to achieve it, and that it can adapt to the strengths of the team.
Of course, if it was a question of having compatibility with Liverpool’s existing squad in Leverkusen’s system, it would be a tricky solution, but Alonso wouldn’t try to do that. He would compare the team and adjust, just as Klopp did when he left Dortmund.
There are dangers in hiring a young coach, however, Alonso’s current trajectory is on an upward trajectory and he would inherit a revamped team with something to prove. Recommending that Alonso or the team can’t adapt to others is unfair, and while there may be some teething problems, it’s a smart choice.
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