The Spaniard’s stay at Leverkusen seems a commendable loyalty, but with several big clubs looking for new managers, Liverpool’s task is not easy.
Perhaps it’s still too perfect: not only the concept of Jürgen Klopp passing the baton to a respected former player, the guy who scored the equaliser in Istanbul, but also the handing over of the baton after a Europa League final in Dublin.
When Bayer Leverkusen came back to keep that narrative alive with two stoppage-time goals against Qarabag, the Kloppian nature of the comeback was deeply appropriate. But Xabi Alonso announced on Friday that he will stay at Leverkusen for at least one more season and will try. a Champions League crusade with the team they are currently on the verge of leading to their first Bundesliga title, meaning Liverpool want to think again.
With the return of former Liverpool sporting director Michael Edwards as the new chief executive of Fenway Sports Group and the appointment of Richard Hughes as sporting director, there would still be turbulence at Anfield this summer beyond Klopp’s departure, but Alonso, as a familiar face who knows the club, would have represented at least some sense of continuity. His concepts of how the game is played are so similar to Klopp’s that the outgoing manager calls it “the circle of family members of coaches”.
Alonso, however, has had incredible patience in his progression as a coach. After a year in Real Madrid’s Juvenil A, he joined another of his former clubs, Real Sociedad, where he coached the B team for just over 3 years before being appointed to Leverkusen in October 2022. After keeping them away from relegation in trouble, they rejected the interest expressed through Tottenham to stay at the club and with Leverkusen lately leading the Bundesliga with 10 points, their accolades will most likely be a league title. In the context of his career so far, it makes much more sense that he needs to lead a team he formed for his first Champions League campaign, than to take the step up with a giant he didn’t have time to train at Liverpool or Bayern. Munich.
In an industry that turns out to be a desperate fight for the top, where the short term reigns, there is something laudable about this; In fact, there are other former internationals of their generation who may have benefited from more experience to succeed in high-level positions. But that doesn’t make Liverpool’s situation any easier. And what complicates the scenario is the number of big clubs that will be looking for a new manager this summer.
Barcelona, Bayern and Napoli will indeed be. Manchester United probably will be. It’s a far cry from what Chelsea, Newcastle, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus will be. It is possible that several national teams, in addition to England, will also be interested in the European Championship. It’s hard not to forget such a transformative time and it comes at a time when it feels like one generation of coaches is giving way to another. There is a wonderful opportunity for one of the young and dynamic generations to take a big step forward in their careers.
For more than a decade, football has been waiting for one of Portugal’s many talented coaches to stand out. Leonardo Jardim, Vítor Pereira, Rui Vitória, Marco Silva and Paulo Fonseca shone for years with promises on the outer edge of the no-nonsense flight without even getting the task of the superclub they thought they could simply; Rúben Amorim may be the one to make the breakthrough.
It’s partly a matter of time, but his record at Sporting is very good, at least domestically: he ended a 19-year wait for the Portuguese name in his first full season and even if he slipped to fourth place last season. , won the cup for the second season in a row and is in the lead this year. European form is less convincing, even as Sporting took four points off Tottenham in the Champions League last season. However, the biggest problem, apart from the lack of experience, which is almost inevitable, is that so far Amorim, whether at Braga or Sporting, has favoured a three-man defence. It’s not insoluble, but that’s not a Liverpool team created for that.
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Roberto De Zerbi, whose Liverpool Brighton will face on Sunday, is arguably not as favoured now as he was when the two sides met in October, a 2-2 press, provoking the press and a counter-press that showed apparent mutual respect with Klopp. If there’s any doubt, it’s about his volatile nature, although he calmed down after his two red cards and four yellows last season.
If it’s neither, and Amorim also turns out to be a target for Barcelona, then who?One of the other Portuguese coaches, Julian Nagelsmann, if he doesn’t stay in Germany?Tomas Tuchel? Julen Lopetegui?
The challenge is that no matter which player comes in, none will feel as natural as Alonso.