Xabi Alonso took centre stage at Anfield elegantly, considered his options and switched play in an instant. Had the ball been at his feet it would have felt as if he had never been away, but it was on the subject of succeeding Jürgen Klopp as Liverpool manager where the club’s former midfielder showed the deftest of touches.
Alonso was back with Bayer Leverkusen, Liverpool’s opponent in the Champions League on Tuesday night, 15 years after ending a playing chapter in his career synonymous with style, Istanbul and an intuitive rapport with Steven Gerrard. He could have been back sooner had Liverpool received any encouragement he might have been in the market for a new job this summer. It was not a possibility he entertained at the time or was keen to revisit at his pre-match press conference on Monday.
“At the time I was focused on a big thing with Leverkusen,” said the man who has transformed the German club’s fortunes and was the popular choice to succeed Klopp earlier this year before Arne Slot took it and hit the ground running.
“Let’s talk about the game tomorrow, it’s more interesting than my future,” Alonso said. “Let’s talk about the great players on both sides, that is what is in my head. For us it is a big challenge to come here. Liverpool at the moment is one of the best if not the best in Europe, they are showing that in a very strong Premier League and the Champions League. It’s a good squad, good coach. At Anfield, it’s a big challenge.”
One benefit of Klopp informing the Liverpool hierarchy of his decision to quit last November was the time it afforded them to sound out potential successors. Liverpool were informed early in their search that Alonso had no plans to leave Leverkusen at the end of the 2023-24 season. Due diligence started privately on Feyenoord’s Slot instead. A stunning start of 13 wins from the Liverpool head coach’s first 15 games has ensured the clamour for Alonso’s return has been forgotten. But the classy Basque’s reputation at Anfield stands tall.
The Leverkusen coach said: “It feels great to be back after a few years. It’s always special. You notice the development of the club, the new stands look pretty amazing. For sure tomorrow is a big game against Liverpool in a great moment, it cannot get much better than that. I am not thinking that much [about how he will be received]. I am thinking more about how to prepare for the game. I might think about my memories when I go for a walk or a run tomorrow. I know the city, I love it and I still have friends here, but I don’t have time for tourism.”
Alonso has the bona fide credentials to back up his popular appeal to Liverpool. And to Real Madrid, who have also been linked with a reunion with their former midfielder post-Carlo Ancelotti. Having taken his first senior managerial position in October 2022 with Leverkusen in the relegation zone, the 42-year-old led the club to their first Bundesliga title 18 months later, breaking Bayern Munich’s 11-year hold on the trophy in the process. His first full season ended with a domestic double courtesy of victory in the DFB-Pokal final.
The current campaign opened with silverware in the form of the German Super Cup. Four draws in the last five league games, however, on top of a defeat by Leipzig that ended Leverkusen’s 35-match unbeaten run in the Bundesliga, have left the reigning champions seven points adrift of Bayern in fourth place. But they are unbeaten in seven away matches in all competitions this season.
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“He is special, that’s clear,” Slot said of the early frontrunner for the job that he landed. “If you go to a club that was bottom of the league and with the same players bring them all the way up without spending that much money, only bringing in one or two very good players, and then the season they had, only losing in the final of the Europa League, that tells you he is special.
“What it is that makes him special is difficult for me to say because I haven’t faced him yet and I haven’t worked with him. What might be the situation is that he’s worked with very good managers in the past, he was a player with incredible insight in the game, he knew when to be where and he played at the highest level so he knows and understands how these players feel in certain moments. That probably contributes to what makes him a good manager.”
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