Jurgen Klopp, who brought in numerous titles at Mainz and Dortmund despite their lack of financial resources, took over as Liverpool manager in October 2015 and revived a team that had been floundering.
He led them to the Premier League title, which even Steven Gerrard had failed to achieve, and he also lifted the Champion’s League, FA Cup, and League Cup trophies. He also initiated a generational change in the forwards and midfielders, and is pushing forward to a new generation.
The German coach, who is under contract until June 2026, will soon have been in charge for more than 10 years. He is still trusted by the owners and is expected to renew his contract as long as the results do not deteriorate too much, but rumors of his successor are also rife.
One candidate is Xabi Alonso, who took over Bayer Leverkusen midway through last season and has led the team to an undefeated record this season.
Former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann also praised the coach’s ability, but said it depends on the timing of which team he will lead next.
“Xabi is doing fantastically well and it depends on how long Klopp stays at Liverpool,”
“Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are two competitors to Xabi’s services, too.”
“It looks like Alonso will leave in the summer, but Real Madrid will need a new coach with [Carlo] Ancelotti going to Brazil. It’s a matter of timing, but Xabi is highly rated at all three of those clubs, it could be a three-horse race. Having said that, Liverpool may not even need a manager in the summer, and perhaps they need to wait a bit longer.”
“Xabi was a very good reader of the game, but if I look back at the players I played with, the ones I thought would become managers never did and vice-versa! You could always tell with Xabi he was a student of the game, and he had to be as he was never the quickest. I’m not surprised he’s doing so well.”
BoyleSports
The leading candidate at the moment is Real Madrid. As the former German midfielder says, coach Carlo Ancelotti is scheduled to retire next summer, making this the perfect time for Alonso to take on a new challenge.
It seems likely that he will head to Spain, but what kind of coaching career will the former Spanish midfielder have…?