Jurgen Klopp endorses Xabi Alonso as the new generation’s ‘standout’ coach
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Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso (left) celebrates with Borja Iglesias after Bayer Leverkusen's 3-0 win over Bayern Munich.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON – Xabi Alonso is an incredible talent from the new generation of football coaches, given his impressive run at Bayer Leverkusen, outgoing Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said on Feb 16.
The former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder has been linked to the upcoming opening at Anfield after Klopp announced in January that he will step down at the end of season.
Alonso guided Leverkusen from near the bottom of the Bundesliga to a five-point lead at the top within 16 months.
The 42-year-old secured a spot at the German Cup semi-finals and defeated serial champions Bayern Munich 3-0 last weekend.
“Xabi is doing an incredible job,” Klopp said. “If you would have asked me eight weeks ago about Xabi Alonso, I would have gone ‘Oh my God!’ Always what I said, the dinosaurs if you want, (Carlo) Ancelotti, (Jose) Mourinho, (Pep) Guardiola, maybe me, we will not do it – okay, maybe Mourinho – but all the rest will not do it for the next 20 years.
"The next generation is already there and I would say Xabi is a standout in that department... Former world-class player, from a coaching family as well which helps a little, he was like a coach already when he was playing.
“The football he is playing, the teams he sets up, the transfers he did, it is absolutely exceptional.”
Klopp, 56, added that he is not involved in the search for his successor, as that is to be decided by the owners of the Merseyside club.
He has had his fair share of achievements in the German Bundesliga from his time at Borussia Dortmund and praised Alonso’s immediate but potent implementation of strategies despite only taking on the role in October 2022.
“How quick his team is that well tuned, for the time it’s taken, he’s put his proper stamp on it,” Klopp added.
Former Liverpool left-back John Arne Riise told The Straits Times in late January that his former teammate Alonso, who has played for and learnt from the likes of Guardiola, Mourinho and Ancelotti, would be his choice to replace Klopp at Anfield.
He said: “Xabi has been a player at the club, he knows the club, he knows the fans. He knows what is expected when it comes to results.
“At Liverpool... expectations are high and you need to have a good relationship with the fans. And he has that, so my pick will be him.
“He is hungry, he is young and he has already proven he is a good manager. You could see it in the way he plays football, his character, how he trains.
“He is tactically smart, he is always looking around, he’s always taking in everything people said, he reads the game very well and he can change a play during a game.
“And that’s how you have to be as a manager.” REUTERS
