‘Xabi Alonso’s the next Pep – he’d command respect at Liverpool but style is different’

The former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich midfielder, who turns 42 today, has only been in charge at the BayArena for 13 months, but in that time he’s taken the club from second-bottom of the Bundesliga to the very summit. Having earned 31 points from a possible 33 this season, Leverkusen are two points clear at the top of the table and look set to mount their first genuine title challenge in over a decade.

Naturally, Alonso’s success has prompted flirtatious glances from several top European clubs. He’s replaced Steven Gerrard as Liverpool fans’ choice to replace Jurgen Klopp, and is also being touted as a potential Carlo Ancelotti successor, with the Italian expected to leave the Bernabeu at the end of the season.

This is no surprise according to The Athletic’s Thom Harris, who says he sees a lot of Pep Guardiola in the former Premier League ace. Alonso spent two years playing under the now Manchester City boss at Bayern, and looks to have based much of his coaching philosophy on Guardiola’s.

“You see [similarities to Guardiola] in Leverkusen’s brand of possession football but also in the way that, out of possession, they play a kind of rigid positional football,” Harris said speaking The Athletic Football Podcast. “They’re playing such a high line this season in comparison to what they were in previous seasons, pressing right up the pitch.

if not Liverpool, which Premier League club do you think Xabi Alonso is most likely to manage? Let us know in the comments section below.

Alonso is one of the few players to have played under both Guardiola and Jose Mourinho, and he spent a couple of seasons learning under Ancelotti too, firstly at Madrid and later at Bayern.