by Perhaps it was always too perfect: not just the idea of Jürgen Klopp handing over a versatile former player, the man who scored the equalizer in Istanbul, but passing on the baton after the Europa League final in Dublin.
When Bayer Leverkusen came from behind to keep that story alive with two injury-time goals against Qarabag, the Kloppian nature of the comeback felt all too appropriate. But Xabi Alonso announced on Friday that he will stay with Leverkusen for at least one more season and will attempt a Champions League campaign with the side he is sure to lead to their first Bundesliga title, and he means so Liverpool need to think again.
Related: ‘The place for me’: Xabi Alonso confirms he will stay with Bayer Leverkusen
With former Liverpool sporting director Michael Edwards returning as the new chief executive of Fenway Sports Group and Richard Hughes appointed as sporting director, Anfield has been in constant turmoil this summer following Klopp’s departure but Alonso, as a familiar face . the club, that he would at least have shown some sense of continuity. His ideas on how to play the game are very similar to those of Klopp who the outgoing manager referred to as a “coaching family”.
Alonso, however, was extremely patient in his training development. After a year working with Real Madrid’s under-14s, he moved to another of his former clubs, Real Sociedad, where he coached the B team for just over three years before being appointed at Leverkusen in October 2022. After pulling them out of relegation. in trouble, he rejected reported interest from Tottenham to stay at the club and, given Leverkusen currently lead the Bundesliga by 10 points, his reward is likely to be a league title. In the context of his career so far, it makes perfect sense that he would want to lead the side he has made in his first Champions League campaign, rather than make that leap to a giant he didn’t have time to mold at Liverpool. or in Bayern. Munich.
In an industry that is often seen as a desperate scrabble for the top, where the short term rules, there is something admirable; there are certainly other former internationals of his generation who could benefit from more experience on their way into great jobs. But that doesn’t make Liverpool’s position any easier. And the most complicated thing is how many big clubs will be looking for a new manager this summer.
Definitely Barcelona, Bayern and Napoli. Probably Manchester United. It is far from impossible that Chelsea, Newcastle, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus could be. Various national teams, including England, may also be after the Euros. It’s hard to remember such a period of flux and it comes just as it feels like one generation of coaches is giving way to another. There is a great opportunity for someone from the younger generation who is under pressure to take a big step forward in their career.
For more than a decade, football has been waiting for one of the huge crop of talented Portuguese managers to break away from the pack. Leonardo Jardim, Vítor Pereira, Rui Vitória, Marco Silva and Paulo Fonseca have been bet on the edge of the elite in recent years without ever getting the super club job, they think; Rúben Amorim could be the one to take the lead.
That is partly a matter of time, but his record at Sporting is very good, at least at home: he ended his 19-year wait for the Portuguese title in his first full season and, although they dropped back to fourth last term, they won. the trophy for the second season in a row and they are on top again this year. European form is less convincing, although Sporting took four points clear of Tottenham in the Champions League last season. The biggest issue, however, apart from a lack of experience, which is almost unavoidable, is that Amorim has so far in his career, at Braga and Sporting, always favored three goals. He’s not invincible but this isn’t a Liverpool squad set up for that.
Roberto De Zerbi, who face Brighton Liverpool on Sunday, is perhaps not as favorable now as he was when the teams met in October, 2-2 pressure, encouraging the press and counter-pressure who showed mutual respect with Klopp. Injuries and European demands are clearly an issue, but Brighton remain in eighth place. If there is any doubt it is his volatile nature, although his two red cards and four yellow cards last season have calmed him down.
If neither – and Amorim also appears to be a Barcelona target – then who? Could Pep Lijnders quit the assistant? One of the other Portuguese coaches? Julian Nagelsmann if he does not stay with Germany? Thomas Tuchel? Julen Lopetegui?
The problem is, whoever comes in, no one will feel such a natural fit as Alonso would.
