Share
26th January 2024
12:22pm GMT
It's the news that Liverpool fans have been dreading to hear, but Jurgen Klopp is leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, and the hunt for a new manager has begun.
Klopp confirmed today in an announcement that shocked everybody that he no longer has the energy to do the role anymore and will leave Anfield at the end of the season.
The German native joined the club back in 2015 and since then has brought unprecedented success, winning every domestic trophy available to him, and ending the club's 30 year wait for the Premier League title.
Liverpool fans won't want to hear it but the show must go on and those in charge will have already compiled a list of names of those who could potentially replace Klopp.
The name 'Pep' will certainly excite most fans anyway, but it isn't the Man City Spaniard who is in contention to take up the hot-seat at Anfield, it is instead the current assistant coach Pep Linjnders.
One of the main driving forces behind Liverpool's all-action style, with their aggressive high line, manic pressure and frantic energy is due to Linjnders excellent coaching.
Linjnders and Klopp have worked closely together at Liverpool over the past few seasons, delivering on all different kinds of success, so if the club want to keep this identity in terms of how they play, then this could be a genuine option to make the transition as seamless as possible.
The Brighton manager was not given much hope when he took over the club from Graham Potter, a man who had developed the team into a real force in the Premier League, but remarkably, Roberto De Zerbi elevated them to a new level entirely.
The Italian not only made Brighton hard to beat with their well organised style, but he turned them from your typical 'we want to survive in the league' team, into a side that takes the game to their opponents.
Last year he masterminded two one-sided victories over Liverpool, including a 3-0 win that would made have made you wonder which side had won six European Cups, and which one hadn't.
Since Steven Gerrard retired and hung up his boots, he has constantly been linked with a return to Liverpool, but this time as the manager. It was almost a foregone conclusion that a romantic return would happen in the near future.
When Gerrard went to Rangers and stopped Celtic from winning 10-in-a-row, everything looked like it was going according to plan as that success got him the Aston Villa job, where he could bank some Premier League experience, and then be primed for the Anfield gig.
However disaster struck as he was sacked from Villa after a poor string of events, and bizarrely he seems to have gone into the managerial wasteland that is the Saudi League, where he currently manages Al-Ettifaq, but hasn't registered a win for them in months.
Romantic or not, it doesn't look like the former captain is the right fit for the job.
This is by far the most likely and most attractive offer for Liverpool fans. Xabi Alonso was a cult hero when he was playing at the club, not least for scoring the third goal in their historic comeback against AC Millan in the 2005 Champion's League final.
The Spaniard was the master passer in midfield and formed an incredible partnership with Steven Gerrard before going on to win the European Cup twice more with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
His managerial career is proven to be just as successful as his playing days, as he is currently guiding Bayern Leverkusen on an incredible journey that sees them sit at the very top of the Bundesliga, a league that has been dominated by Munich for the past decade.
Alonso looks like he is breaking that monopoly in Germany, and with his team still yet to lose a single game this season, they are well on track to create history in 2024.
Given his ties to the club already, his incredible start to his managerial career, and beautiful style of football, Alonso is without a doubt the fans favourite choice to replace the irreplaceable Klopp.
Related links:
Explore more on these topics:
