Why Xabi Alonso becoming Liverpool manager is a ‘no-brainer’

Why it is important that Xabi Alonso is the man to take over from Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.

It was a day that was bound to come for Liverpool, but for fans it became a bitter pill to swallow when their manager, Jurgen Klopp announced his shocking exit from the club towards the conclusion of the 2023/24 season.

So many tributes poured on social media for the man, the myth and the normal one, despite him insisting he did not want the moment to just be about him.

While some would be looking up with elation, some with sadness, and others with admiration for what was, Liverpool face the dilemma of ‘what will be’ as the season draws to an end. Who will take over the reins once the Jurgen Klopp and his coaching team departs? What happens to the intensity style of football they brought? Does it die off for something else to be born?

Most importantly, what now happens to the telepathic connection Jurgen Klopp established between the fans, himself and the team? Will all that be lost or sacrificed? Cause let’s face it, the Liverpool team Jurgen Klopp built cannot be remade by just about any other manager coming in.

The Scousers, the Liverpool fans themselves say it; in as much as the club is like any other football club in World Football, its DNA is built differently from the others. The Liverpool DNA they say, is built around the connection with the City, the fans and bringing that to the field.

Of course, there stands the reality that another manager could come into the club and bring instantaneous success to the team, even more so than Klopp himself. But what are the odds that is going to happen immediately?

And what’s to say the fans will have that patience for someone else who they will believe does not understand the club like Jurgen Klopp or any of their previous managers did?

In fact, if there is any certainty following the exit of Jurgen Klopp at the helm of affairs, what would befall the Reds would be a transition period; some players will be looking to move on, some players will likely be hesitant about the project moving forward and of course, new faces are likely to show up.

Hence, if Liverpool are going to move into that phase, they need someone who understands the club, the fans, the city and has the managerial credence to inspire hope and believe moving on from Jurgen Klopp.

No one can replace Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool only needs someone to ease them through the transition.

Some would lay emphasis to Roberto De Zerbi being a viable option for the Liverpool managerial position, owing to his impressive work at Brighton and Hove Albion, but this is a gamble that should it fail, could hit harder on the club’s owners in the face if their fallibility gets exposed like never before.

The Fenway Sports Group have had their fair share of blames and criticisms from the Liverpool fans as a result of their business model, and often times than not, Jurgen Klopp has sheltered that fault to great lengths, shielding the club’s hierarchy in times when narratives could have been blown out of proportion.

Hence, it becomes a real test for the Fenway Sports Group now when it comes to identifying a successor for the club when Klopp departs.

Former Liverpool player and legend, Xabi Alonso comes in as that gamble that could show promises if not instantaneous success, as there already exists a connection between Alonso and Liverpool.

There is also the reality that appointing the Spaniard may not go on to work in the end, but bringing in a Kop favorite who has shown promise in his managerial CV and is adored by the fans, will ease in the transitional period for the team.

Then again is Xabi Alonso’s quality in working with youths, which FSG will very well fancy in a manager.

Though, the potential of Xabi Alonso becoming Liverpool manager at this time of writing seems slim, the Spaniard going on to win the German Bundesliga this season ahead of Bayern Munich, will affect whatever category Fenway Sports Group will be looking at.