- 5 hours ago
Another Liverpool boss makes comments on possible Xabi Alonso deal
Jacque Talbot
- 17 Feb 2024 16:40 GMT
- 5 min read
Former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has had his say on the possibility of Xabi Alonso taking up the dugout at Anfield as a successor to Jurgen Klopp, who announced his intention to leave the club at the end of the current season.
Alonso is a former player of the Reds and his time at Bayer Leverkusen has earned a heap full of praise.
And Benitez has hailed Alonso, a former player of his who featured in the starting XI of Liverpool’s 2005 Champions League and the 2006 FA Cup triumphs.
Alonso has led Bayer to the top of the Bundesliga table by five points, having not yet lost a game.
And Benitez, considered one of Liverpool’s most successful coaches, has spoken out about his compatriot taking the role.
"When he took over last season, they needed to play a lot on the counter-attack. Now they have a team that is more of a protagonist, with a lot of pace, a lot of fast attacking. He is doing very good work," he told The Athletic.
"Xabi has been at good teams with good coaches. He is intelligent. He has picked up different things from all his coaches. There is a lot of noise around Xabi Alonso at the moment, but there are lots of other good coaches not so much in the media spotlight.
"Teams have to choose not what is trending on social media, but the characteristics they need and the stability and path they want for their team. You have to know the possibility of improving where you are or growing with a new project."
“How quickly his team is that well-tuned, that impresses me. For the time it’s taken, he’s put his proper stamp on it. Nobody knows if that’s always the way he wants to play or if it’s the way this team specifically plays.
"He’s not long enough in the business to tell, but obviously the coaching part is exceptional. That’s clear. The football he’s playing, the teams he sets up, the transfers he did, it was all exceptional.”
Read more about: Premier League, Liverpool
