Xabi Alonso emerges as a remarkable talent among the fresh crop of managers, lauded for his stellar tenure at Bayer Leverkusen, disclosed departing Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp.
The erstwhile Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder has been associated with the imminent vacancy at Anfield subsequent to Klopp’s announcement last month regarding his impending departure at the season’s end.
Alonso steered Leverkusen from the brink of Bundesliga oblivion to a commanding five-point lead at the summit in just 16 months. The 42-year-old tactician clinched a berth in the German Cup semi-finals and notably vanquished perennial champions Bayern Munich 3-0 last weekend.
“Xabi is doing an incredible job,” remarked Klopp on Friday. “If you would have asked me eight weeks ago about Xabi Alonso, I would have gone ‘Oh my God!’ Always what I said, the dinosaurs if you want, Ancelotti (Carlo), Mourinho (Jose), Guardiola (Pep), maybe me, we will not do it – okay, maybe Mourinho – but all the rest will not do it for the next 20 years.”
“The next generation is already there and I would say Xabi is a standout in that department… Former world-class player, from a coaching family as well which helps a little, he was like a coach already when he was playing.
“The football he is playing, the teams he sets up, the transfers he did, it is absolutely exceptional,” Klopp continued.
Klopp further asserted his non-involvement in the quest for his successor, indicating that such decisions lie within the purview of the Merseyside club’s ownership.
The 56-year-old, who boasts a litany of achievements in the German league from his tenure at Borussia Dortmund, extolled Alonso’s swift and efficacious implementation of strategies, despite assuming the mantle only in October 2022.
“How quick his team is that well tuned, for the time it’s taken, he’s put his proper stamp on it,” Klopp added.