Jurgen Klopp ‘surprised and not surprised’ by Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid exit

LEIPZIG – Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid exit was a surprise but also predictable from the European giants known for cut-throat coaching decisions.

The former Real midfielder lasted less than eight months in the Bernabeu dugout, leaving the club by “mutual agreement” a day after being outplayed in a

3-2 defeat by Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final

on Jan 11.

“When I heard the news about Xabi Alonso, it was a bit of a mix. Yes, I was surprised. And no, I wasn’t surprised,” Klopp told AFP and other media in Leipzig.

“I was like ‘what?’ And ‘yeah, of course’.”

Referencing Real sacking German coach Jupp Heynckes in 1998 eight days after winning the Champions League for failing to win La Liga, Klopp said, “It’s always like that from Madrid when they’re not first in the table.”

The 58-year-old, who has been working as Red Bull’s global head of football for a year, said Real did not seem to have a plan post-Alonso and may struggle to find the right replacement.

“I have no clue why it happened, but it’s always a specific case and not a general problem because what they see now, Real Madrid, is that bringing in just the next one is not that easy,” he added.

“If you sack a manager, you better have an idea who you want to succeed him. And it should be realistic. If they think they can get Pep Guardiola, I would say there’s not a big chance.”

The former Borussia Dortmund coach dismissed rumours linking him to the Real dugout as media speculation, saying: “I’m in a place, as a person, where I’m completely at peace with where I am. I don’t want to be somewhere else.

“I don’t get up and excited if Real Madrid are showing interest.”

Klopp won league titles in England and Germany as well as the Champions League, but said he still felt his time as a manager was over.

“Do I want to coach again? At the moment I would say no, but I cannot say never, never, never. I don’t expect to change my mind, but I don’t know.”

That means for now at least, Alvaro Arbeloa, Alonso’s replacement, should be safe. He will take charge of his third match as Real coach when they host Monaco in the Champions League on Jan 20.

And it already seems Arbeloa, 43, believes success with the record 15-time European champions will come only with the careful management of egos at the club.

Alonso’s downfall started when, despite beating Barcelona in the Clasico in October, he substituted Vinicius Jr and the Brazilian responded furiously.

The 44-year-old also upset Federico Valverde by playing him out of position and rotated Jude Bellingham, until eventually the pressure on him from within the dressing room told.

The Basque coach returned Vinicius and Bellingham to their near-untouchable star status, but results did not follow and eventually Alonso was forced out.

Arbeloa’s approach seems to be to lavish the club’s most talented players with the kind of affection shown by Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane during their successful stints at the club.

Even though Vinicius struggled in the Copa del Rey exit at second-tier Albacete in Arbeloa’s debut in the dugout, he hailed the forward, to a near-absurd degree considering the circumstances.

“(He wanted) to carry the team on his shoulders, to attack and never hide, that’s the Vini I want to see,” said Arbeloa. “I’ll ask his teammates to find him more, give him the ball as much as possible.”

The fans, however, may need more convincing. Vinicius and Bellingham were subject to the worst of the jeering in Real’s 2-0 La Liga win over Levante on Jan 17.

“Up close he’s even better than on television, his experience, maturity, leadership,” said Arbeloa of the Englishman. “He’s one of the team’s leaders, the same as Kylian (Mbappe), Vini or Fede. They are players called on to do great things for Real Madrid... when things aren’t going well, we have to look for them continuously... we have to make them happy.” AFP