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I was convinced about Xabi Alonso from the start – most people can’t believe what he’s about to do

EXCLUSIVE: The ECHO chats to former Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt about Jurgen Klopp and Xabi Alonso ahead of Saturday’s legends’ game at Anfield. 

Dirk Kuyt says he is not surprised by Xabi Alonso’s sudden rise as a manager and urged his former Liverpool colleague to grasp any offer to succeed Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.

 

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Kuyt played with Alonso for three years at Anfield before the latter made a £30m move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2009 and the former Netherlands international says his ex-team-mate was always destined to become a coach.

Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen currently hold a 10-point advantage at the top of the Bundesliga and are involved in the last eight of the Europa League where they will meet West Ham United before a potential semi-final with either Roma or AC Milan.

In a chat with the ECHO ahead of Saturday’s legends’ match with Ajax, Kuyt said: “Well, you know, if you look at former team-mates and players, sometimes you doubt they can become a coach and then you see them doing really well in a management job. But, for Xabi, I think in my mind definitely he was like a future coach.

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“I followed him and the steps he made in his career. I think he did very steady to manage a couple of U23s teams but then he had his first opportunity at Bayer Leverkusen and I think it was the right step.

 

“It is down to him that he has brought them to the next level because suddenly he is challenging for the league title in Germany and that is something that is very special because for the last few years Bayern Munich was always up there and the number two was Borussia Dortmund.

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“Now Xabi is there and I think people almost cannot believe that someone other than Bayern Munich are going to win the league. That shows the quality of a manager like Xabi Alonso.

 

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“People can say maybe it has come too quick but sometimes good things come very quickly and for me, definitely, he was always a guy during our playing time that was always thinking about the game; thinking tactically; talking always tactically outside of the pitch.

“So you could see from a distance a manager one day and for me it would be amazing if one of my former team-mates like Xabi or maybe Steven (Gerrard) in the future will become a manager of Liverpool FC. That would be amazing and I think both will do well.

 

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“Obviously you see Stevie is now a little further from the job but he also has experience with Glasgow Rangers and then Aston Villa. He is now maybe in a place where people don’t like him to be but he is still doing the job and getting experience and that is how you become a better manager in my opinion.

 

“With Xabi it is the same. I am really looking forward to who will get the job but if Xabi gets it I wish him all the best and I am really proud of my former team-mate for what he is doing there as a manager.”

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Kuyt admits he was shocked when he learned of Klopp’s late-January decision to walk away at the end of the season and says the ideal way to bow out will be to lift the Premier League title in his final match in May.

“It was a bit crazy to see the news a couple of weeks ago,” Kuyt says. “It felt a bit unreal but everyone can see how much not only the players but also the staff and the manager is putting into the club.

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“You can see that it asks a lot of energy from him and it is a huge decision from him but also a good decision that he feels there has come a day when he cannot give the same energy anymore that he is giving day in and day out.

 

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“So it feels for everyone, like for me, that it is too early for him to leave, But it is the case with managers sometimes that in some cases it is better to leave too early than too late. What he has done for the club is unbelievable and he is up there as one of the best managers in the history of Liverpool Football Club.

 

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“What I wish for him…is that he comes back on his decision! No, that is a joke but what I wish for him is that he finishes his career at Liverpool with a league title. That will be amazing, it will be unbelievable.

“I think Jurgen Klopp will always be remembered as one of the best managers at Liverpool but if he manages to win the league on the day he says goodbye to the club, it will be something historical.”

 

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On the legends’ match this weekend, Kuyt says: “It’s always very special to play a legends’ match, especially at Anfield, because every time I have played there so far, there was a really big crowd coming up so that makes it even more special. To play against my rival team in Holland, Ajax, is also pretty special.

“And not only are they always my rivals, they still are a little bit, there are also some friends of mine playing in the Ajax team so I am really looking forward to the legends’ match and really happy that I can be there.

 

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“It’s really special to come back to Liverpool. A couple of times a year I try to come back to watch a game but to be back on the pitch, to be back with my former team-mates but also with the fans, at a full Anfield, that makes it really special.

 

“We talk about a lot of special feelings but the special feeling is that we are doing it for a good cause, we are doing it for the city of Liverpool and we try to give something back and that makes these kinds of games special.

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