Liverpool’s hunt for someone to do the impossible job of succeeded Jurgen Klopp is well and truly on.
Klopp’s decision to inform the Reds that he was moving on back in November has allowed them plenty of time to find the right man. So far, a number of names have been mentioned, some surprising, some much less so.
One of those that falls very much into the latter category is Xabi Alonso. The former Liverpool midfielder has been doing a terrific job at Bayer Leverkusen ever since his appointment in October 2022.
So good has Alonso been, that that the Spaniard has now set a quite incredible new record.
Posting on X, football analyst site Squawka confirm that Alonso’s Leverkusen have now gone 29 games unbeaten. That’s the full season and it’s also the club’s outright longest streak without losing in their year history. Impressive.
Not only that, but Leverkusen have now moved to within three of the all-time German club record, currently held by, who else, Bayern Munich. For a rookie manager, that is special. Sign him up, Liverpool!
We can see the sense in that, and Pep Guardiola’s freakish record aside, all top managers face adversity at some point. It’s then when you see what they’re really made of.
Klopp has faced a certain amount of that adversity at Liverpool over the years. Take only last year for example, the 56-year-old had easily his worst season at Anfield. Lesser managers would have thrown in the towel or continued the decline into this season.
Instead, Jurgen showed just how good he is by turning Liverpool into title contenders once again.
We understand the point that until Alonso has shown that he too can come through the other side of these difficulties, he won’t convince everyone. But by the same token, some managers are just special.
Going unbeaten into February in your first full season as a head coach is remarkable. It’s that kind of thing that has marked Alonso out as the only real contender to follow Klopp in the eyes of Liverpool fans. Former Spain teammate Cesc Fabregas says Xabi is ‘intelligent’ [BBC Planet Premier League] and that has been on full display this season.
It remains to be seen whether FSG are impressed enough to offer the World Cup winner the job. However, with journalist Raphael Honigstein claiming that Alonso would take it if it were offered, it seems like we might be getting closer to that.
Congratulations Xabi, same again at Anfield next year, yeah?
