Although Alonso is hardly Klopp 2.0, FSG should consider some aspects of his Bayer Leverkusen play style when selecting Liverpool’s next manager.
A few thousand more fans watched from Liverpool as just over 30,000 fans packed the BayArena to witness whether Bayer Leverkusen could maintain their four-point lead in the Bundesliga on Saturday night.
When it comes to taking Jurgen Klopp’s place at Anfield, Xabi Alonso might be the heart’s choice, but the intellect must also decide on him. To varied degrees of success, Liverpool has appointed former players as managers in the past.
The two most successful of them are by far Kenny Dalglish and Bob Paisley, and Klopp understands how fortunate he is to be included in the Boot Room greats with the two “honorary scousers.”
Bill Shankly was replaced by Paisley, Dalglish by Graeme Souness, Ronnie Moran (as caretaker), and Roy Evans by Paisley. As the first non-British former player to assume leadership, Alonso would be an equally impressive act to follow in the footsteps of Paisley.
Nobody could have predicted the same degree of success the Durham native legend enjoyed with Liverpool, but Alonso from Spain is proving he’s more than just a pretty face.
Leverkusen’s lead at the top of the table has been cut to two points as a result of their goalless draw this past weekend against their close neighbours Borussia Monchengladbach. Bayern Munich’s victory earlier in the day made this possible.
However, that is by no means the whole tale. Leverkusen, who are still unbeaten, lost a lot of fantastic chances and had several players out due to injury or international service.
Positively, the team’s play had aspects reminiscent of Klopp. Each player understood their role on the pitch despite multiple rotations, including one in goal, and they ended the game with 75% of the possession.
Sounds familiar? The Germans are fearless when it comes to counterattacking and will play one-touch in and around the opposition box.
Particularly, one instance jumped out.
Leverkusen pressured the Gladbach defence halfway through the first half and succeeded in boxing the visitors into a corner. Leverkusen was able to recover possession of the ball within the penalty area because of the tight confines, which caused an error.
Florian Writz, who is rumoured to be heading to Liverpool, had a chance to take advantage of it, but he missed the post with his shot after it deflected off the custodian. The five-second segment suggested that Alonso already subscribes to Klopp’s mantra of pestering and hassling at Anfield, even in the lack of a finish.
Speaking of heavy metal football, the Spaniard has made sure there are spare balls accessible every 10 metres all around the BayArena field—29 total—so that action can get back underway as soon as possible.
With a total of 28 shots on goal, it was clear that a stronger end to the game would have sent the hosts home with ease. Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, and Luis Diaz would have salivated at the opportunities the likes of Wirtz and others created.
Speaking of Wirtz, the midfielder could fill Roberto Firmino’s void with ease as he has eight goals and twelve assists thus far this season. It’s uncertain, though, if Liverpool will pay a premium to sign the 20-year-old this summer given that other areas need to be reinforced.
Selecting Klopp’s replacement is, in any case, their most significant purchase. The German is unique, and his bond with the players, fans, and board might not come along very often. However, Alonso seems like a sincere effort.
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