The secrets and techniques of Alonso – Klopp’s Liverpool successor in ready

Xabi Alonso. Once the prince of Liverpool‘s midfield, a person who might now change into the king of Anfield.

As information of Jurgen Klopp‘s seismic departure started to sink in, the query Liverpool followers are asking is: who’s subsequent?

Today was the largest soccer day in Liverpool since Kenny Dalglish resigned in 1991. And 15 years after Alonso departed Anfield as a participant to hitch Real Madrid, Alonso is the inheritor to the throne.

At 42, he’s the most popular younger supervisor in Europe. His adventurous Bayer Leverkusen facet lead the Bundesliga and are successful rave critiques with the daring type they’ve taken to Bayern Munich. Liverpool have seen.

He can nonetheless play too. When Mail Sport dropped in to see him just lately, his dazzling passing type was nonetheless clear for all to see.

Yes, he is nonetheless obtained it, alright; that a lot is evident. On a lush coaching pitch subsequent to Bayer Leverkusen’s stadium, Alonso is fizzing balls round with pinpoint accuracy.

As a midfielder with Liverpool and past, he made soccer look straightforward. Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Spain additionally benefitted from his swagger.

His haul of 17 main trophies, together with a World Cup and two Champions Leagues, and 114 caps mirrored his genius. Watching him go this drizzly day confirms magic stays in his boots. It seems really easy.

The distinction between then and now, although, is the truth that Alonso has 20 pairs of eyes finding out him, a bunch that listens to his each phrase. No surprise. Alonso’s star as a supervisor is rising, his affect on Leverkusen in brief time frame nothing in need of staggering.

When he was appointed in early October, 2022, Leverkusen have been within the relegation zone. Today, they proudly sit high of the Bundesliga on 48 factors, 4 away from Harry Kane and firm.

Could they actually cease the Bayern Munich juggernaut and wreck Harry Kane’s first season overseas by lifting the Meisterschale?

‘We have gotten our place however we’ve this ardour, this may, to proceed doing the proper issues,’ Alonso tells Mail Sport. ‘Maybe sooner or later we will do one thing good. We will see. But we do not look forward. We go step-by-step. That is in our DNA – how we’re going to work issues out.’

Watching Alonso work confirms the whole lot his previous team-mates instructed you about what his future would appear to be. Everyone knew he would change into a supervisor; he was a pacesetter who commanded respect and had a transparent concept of how the sport must be performed.

This stays true. We have come to spend 48 hours in Northern Germany, to get an understanding of what he’s doing; observing him the day earlier than Leverkusen play Molde of their closing Europa League sport, you see a person comfy in his environment.

He does not waste a single second of a session. When a drill finishes, Alonso will knock a ball into the group of gamers, so they’re at all times fascinated with having it at their ft. That got here naturally to him and he needs them to be equally comfy.

‘This is my process, my job, my ardour – that is what I’m having fun with doing,’ he says. ‘I prefer to be near the gamers, for certain, making an attempt new issues and ensuring they’ve this dedication. We must get the message throughout that every session is essential.

‘It means one thing, the issues we’re doing are for a cause. We have been working collectively now with many of the guys for one 12 months and two months and the dynamic now’s fairly good. That is what we’ve to do, to maintain that focus.

‘The message is that we’ve to be the most effective model of ourselves, from Monday to Friday, so we’re prepared for Saturday. I need to be near them, speaking to them, on the pitch and off the pitch. But, on the similar time, we will by no means be too relaxed.’

He definitely will not chill out. Club officers describe his consideration to element as being obsessive and, whereas it would sounded clichéd, Alonso is first within the constructing every morning and final to depart every evening – there isn’t any comprise. Long hours are important.

When he first took the job, the stress he put himself underneath was, by his personal admission, ‘intense’; his spouse, Nagora, stayed in Spain with their three youngsters for the primary six weeks and solely once they arrived in Germany did he really feel stability as soon as extra. The household house is now in Dusseldorf.

But throughout these six weeks, he set a tone. Two days earlier than the top of the World Cup break, he went into work and noticed a handful of injured gamers doing rehab out on the grass; moderately than go away them alone, Alonso obtained modified, placed on his trainers and joined them for the following hour.

Another factor he applied was a ‘breakfast membership’ – on the third flooring of the Bay Arena’s West Tribune, the squad assembles every morning to have breakfast collectively. The key to success, he is aware of, is concord and spirit.

To emphasise this, his workforce choice for the Molde sport was important. He gave third alternative goalkeeper Niklas Lomb a uncommon begin, rewarding his angle. Here was a transparent message that everybody has a job to play for him.

‘So far we’ve been capable of finding two essential issues,’ he says. ‘How we need to play and the way we need to compete when it comes to soccer and when it comes to our mentality. When we’re capable of mix these issues, we might be in an excellent temper.’

The temper on this metropolis, with its inhabitants of 160,000, is buoyant. Bundesliga video games are offered out and a measure of the workforce’s reputation is proven by the very fact they took 4,000 travelling followers to current fixtures in Stuttgart and Bremen; Alonso has lit a spark.

But why ought to this be a shock? He labored underneath Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho, Rafa Benitez, Carlo Ancelotti and Vincente Del Bosque, analysing their strategies and understanding what it takes to handle on the highest stage.

There will come a degree sooner or later when he could have his choose of the largest jobs round. With his affinity and connections on Merseyside, a lot will see him as Jurgen Klopp’s inheritor obvious. Similarly, the sensation in Madrid is that he is destined to work on the Santiago Bernabeu.

But he’s not in any rush – and why ought to he be? Contracted to July 2026, Alonso is constructing an thrilling workforce, having remodelled it this summer season: 19 gamers have been moved out, together with Moussa Diaby to Aston Villa for £50million, with eight arriving.

He had a transparent plan of what wanted to be achieved and his massive additions – Nathan Tella, £20million from Southampton, the Nigeria worldwide Victor Boniface and Granit Xhaka from Arsenal – have all made a distinction. The recruitment has labored.

‘It was basic the choices that we took,’ Alonso agrees. We had the concept earlier than the top of final 12 months how we wished to restructure the workforce and we’ve many essential gamers who’re doing a number of good issues.’

And how they did good issues in opposition to Molde. Tella was excellent, benefitting from a fifth minute touchline tutorial from his supervisor; Jonas Hoffman, one other new boy, was glorious, as was Adam Hlozek, who was credited with scoring two objectives.

They gained 5-1, switching seamlessly by three totally different techniques, and have been the one workforce within the Europa League to win all six group video games. They reached the semi-finals final season, dropping 1-0 to Roma, and they’re geared up to go deep within the competitors once more.

Should he change into the primary Leverkusen supervisor to win a trophy since 1993, his inventory would undergo the roof and he’s completely happy to dream – however he’s additionally a realist. The hardest a part of this journey, for workforce and supervisor, remains to be to return.

‘Those who need to be relaxed, get punished instantly as quickly as they do this,’ he says. ‘Hopefully we aren’t that silly. We can not take something without any consideration. I do not actually care, to be trustworthy, about what number of video games we preserve successful. I do not care what has occurred.

‘I solely care about what’s coming. My solely ideas now are Eintracht and Bochum. We want to complete this final week with full gasoline, with full motivation. I’m certain that if we get good outcomes, we are going to take pleasure in a lot better Christmas. We must make the final effort.’

His ideas may flip to Anfield prior to he thought. They will definitely be fascinated with him.