Xabi Alonso is no Jürgen Klopp. Nobody compares to the German, so replicating his success at Anfield should be impossible in an increasingly Gulf-state-owned European club landscape.
But there is mounting evidence to suggest his return to Liverpool as manager could hit similar heights to Bob Paisley in the wake of Bill Shankly’s 15 years on Merseyside.
Yes, this column is giving Alonso the Liverpool Football Club job off the back of Bayer Leverkusen tearing Bayern Munich apart to move five points clear of them in the Bundesliga.
A fly in the ointment would be Bayern Munich sacking Thomas Tuchel and swooping for the Leverkusen manager.
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Until such time, an analysis of what makes Alonso the most sought-after coach in the game feels worthwhile. Unlike other top midfielders from his generation, he took the slow and steady path into management. After doing an elite Uefa coaching course alongside Xavi in 2018, he returned to Real Madrid as under-14s coach.
Within a year word had spread about Alonso’s approach to coaching and he rejoined his first club, Real Sociedad B. Promotion to the second tier of Spanish football in 2019, for the first time since 1962, was followed by relegation to the third tier in 2022.
Lived it. Loved it.
— Xabi Alonso (@XabiAlonso) March 9, 2017
Farewell beautiful game. pic.twitter.com/1aSN7GGNzZ
There is no lasting success without early failure. That it happened away from the media glare is important.
Bayer Leverkusen hired him to replace Gerardo Seoane eight games into last season with the club second from bottom of the table. They went on to finish sixth and reached the Europa League semi-final.
Leverkusen are unbeaten in 21 matches this season, conceding just 14 goals and last Saturday night Alonso’s outfit exposed the limitations of the Tuchel system, winning 3-0. On Wednesday in Rome, Lazio rammed home concerns about the perennial German champions, beating Bayern 1-0 in the Champions League round of 16.
Tuchel’s well-organised approach enabled Chelsea win that competition in 2021. Ireland adopted the 3-4-2-1 formation under his assistant coach Anthony Barry the same year. The Bayern system thrives off Harry Kane storming through the middle with Leroy Sané and Jamal Musiala in close support.
But Alonso saw all the angles against Tuchel, whose job is now hanging by a thread. Kane did not get a kick against Leverkusen because Eric Dier was repeatedly targeted on the ball. They let the centre half have it and pressed him. Dier does not move his feet quickly enough and this leads to errors in midfield (also a recurring problem for Ireland).
The other centre halves, Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-jae, kept stepping out only to be exposed on a quick counter, which has become the calling card of Alonso teams.
Sound familiar?
When a frustrated Kane dropped deep, he ran into Granit Xhaka who controlled the game for Leverkusen while sitting in front of his three centre halves.
It was an enjoyable watch. Their wing backs offer a constant out ball. The best example was former Celtic player Jeremine Frimpong coming off the bench to score the third goal into an empty net as Manuel Neuer went up for an injury-time corner.
Unlike Tuchel, Alonso is not a slave to rigid systems. Normally his team goes with three defenders and wingers high up the pitch. Against Munich, they set up 5-4-1 to trigger a lethal counterattack.
This is the modern game. I remember David Moyes drilling three separate formations into us at Everton training over 15 years ago.
Any manager worth their salt plants a seed of doubt in the opposition dugout. “Change!” Moyes would yell and we’d go 4-3-3. “Change!” and we’d revert to 4-5-1 to stop the opposition overrunning us in midfield. When we had control of possession, “change!” would mean a 4-4-2 bamboozle of the opposition.
There is a boot-room clear-out at Anfield this summer as Klopp is followed out the door by his assistants Pep Lijnders and Peter Krawietz, development coach Vitor Matos and sporting director Jorg Schmadtke. This allows the next Liverpool manager to bring in his own experts.
The FAI, in their managerial search, appear stuck on this very issue as budgetary constraints hinder the appointment of certain backroom staff. I was hopeful in January that a deal could be struck between Lee Carsley and the association. The dogs in the street know that he is the number one target but if negotiations come unstuck, none of the other reported candidates fit the job specification.
Except for Anthony Barry. The Liverpudlian ticks the FAI’s “head coach” box and he seems capable of embedding a style of play down the Irish age grades. Ironically, Barry is part of Tuchel’s coaching staff at Bayern, so watch this space.
Hopefully, Marc Canham has an ace up his sleeve. Worrying but equally exciting times as whatever happens, England and Greece are coming to Dublin in September.
For Liverpool, the return of their Champions League-winning midfielder from 2005, might soften the blow of replacing Klopp.
Either way it is an enormous task, but if Alonso can replicate Klopp in 2012 and smash Bayern Munich’s drive for a 12th straight Bundesliga title, while securing Leverkusen’s first, he becomes an irresistible choice.
