It can be doing Xabi Alonso a significant disservice to counsel his hyperlinks to the soon-to-be vacant Liverpool job are purely primarily based on his emotional ties to Anfield.
Of course, that is a significant component after the 42-year-old was put in because the early favorite to succeed Jurgen Klopp, who surprised the soccer world by asserting he’ll stand down on the finish of the season.
But Alonso’s unbelievable exploits with Bayer Leverkusen over the past 16 months deserve equal billing. It is fully possible that the Spaniard might pull off one of many greatest shocks in European soccer by denying the Bayern Munich juggernaut the Bundesliga title for the primary time since 2012. The final supervisor to take action? You could have heard of him, a sure chap known as Klopp.
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To actually perceive what Alonso has achieved, you have got return to October 2022, when he swapped teaching Real Sociedad’s B group for a Bayer facet in a state of turmoil. Leverkusen have been second-bottom of the Bundesliga desk after eight video games.
Amid issues they may very well be relegated to the second tier, Leverkusen have been taking a calculated gamble by appointing an unproven boss. However, the gamble has paid off, after which some!
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(Image: Getty)
His first sport in cost was a 4-0 win over Schalke. He and Bayer haven’t seemed again since. Alonso led Leverkusen to the semi-finals of the Europa League, the place they have been knocked out by Jose Mourinho’s Roma.
Despite their torrid begin, they extremely completed sixth within the Bundesliga to qualify once more for the Europa League once more. By final summer time, he was already being linked with the Premier League amid reported curiosity from Tottenham.
That hyperlink got here to nothing as Spurs swooped for boyhood Reds followers Ange Postecoglou whereas Alonso signed a brand new Bayer contract which runs till the summer time of 2026.
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(Image: Getty)
The upward momentum has continued this season, with 15 wins and no defeats from 18 video games. With the German top-flight previous its midway mark, that is no flash within the pan as they sit 4 factors forward of Bayern, regardless of Harry Kane’s bierkeller-full of objectives.
Alonso was predictably non-committal when requested concerning the possibilities of him changing Klopp, treading the road between respecting his present employer and never ruling out a return to Anfield, the place he’s nonetheless adored
“At the moment I’m really happy here. I’m enjoying my work here, I’m feeling that each day is a challenge, each game is a challenge,” he stated. “We are in an intense and delightful journey right here in Leverkusen and I’m attempting to offer my finest to assist my gamers be prepared for the subsequent factor and that’s my aim.
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“What is coming next, I don’t know. I’m not in that moment to think about the next step. I’m thinking about right now and I think I’m in a great place and I’m enjoying it.
“I think it is the right place and that is all I can say. What is going to happen in the future I don’t know and I don’t really care, to be honest.”
Reading between the strains, a Reds reunion would certainly be onerous for him to withstand.