Right now it seems like there is only one possible candidate in the race to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool. Xabi Alonso seems like a clear frontrunner. His affiliation with Liverpool already makes him a fan favourite.
As a player, Alonso was adored by the club’s fans. He became a cult favourite with his cultured playing style, and brilliant reading of the game. Now as a manager, Alonso is winning fans over with innovative ideas and an exciting style.
He’s also getting results and racking up points on the table. Alonso’s Leverkusen are currently the only team in Europe’s top five leagues who are still unbeaten in all competitions. They’ve also just broken Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich record for the longest unbeaten streak in German football, having reached 33 games without defeat now this season. And are second for most goals scored in all competitions with 97, behind Liverpool, who are on 100.
All that makes things a mouthwatering read. But Alonso is not the only option for Liverpool. There are reportedly other alternatives as well. Including Julian Nagelsmann and Ruben Amorim according to The Telegraph.
Julian Nagelsmann blew away Jurgen Klopp in the past
Out of the two, Nagelsmann seems like he could be an ideal successor to Klopp’s throne. He’s still very young at 36-years-old, but already has an impressive pedigree, having led Hoffenheim to the Champions League, done a stellar job at RB Leipzig, and also managed Bayern Munich.
He’s also faced Liverpool in the past, and at one point even blew Jurgen Klopp away. In a conversation with Nagelsmann for the Champions Journal, Klopp admitted he was really impressed with the German coach set-up to face him with Hoffenheim back in 2017.
“I had heard a lot about Julian Nagelsmann and then we got the analysis for the game and I thought, ‘Wow, hats off!’ I much prefer that … someone has a clear way of playing which you can see. I can work with that; I can develop something from that,” Klopp recalled.
“When you have no clue what the opponent is doing and they’re only passing balls from left to right, then you just think to yourself, ‘What are they thinking?’ And in the end, it always turns out that it’s probably not much, which is really difficult to prepare for. So that was a challenge in preparation, but still we could develop something.
“The way you played was really exceptional. You really focused on ball possession, on good processes. I really liked that. But for us that was pretty practical because we weren’t as advanced then as we are now. We could focus on our possession play, passing here and there. That helped us quite a bit. In the end, quality is often the decisive factor. Back then, you were always described as a coaching talent, and you were! You kind of still are. But at least now you’re slowly reaching the age where other people are also coaches, which helps to get rid of this title. But I was really impressed.”
Reading that alone and how impressed Klopp was by Nagelsmann really gets you sold on him becoming the ideal alternative to Alonso at Anfield. Now the manager of the German national team Nagelsmann is expected to coach Germany in Euro 2024. That would make things a little bit more complicated in terms of when he would be able to arrive at Liverpool. However, given Nagelsmann’s obvious talent, that might be a risk worth taking.
He’s a clear managing protege, and his work over the last few years speaks for itself. The fact that he is also endorsed by Klopp is just the cherry on top of the cake.
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