Cesc Fabregas has backed one of his former World Cup-winning teammates to succeed Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager.
Xabi Alonso is among the leading contenders for the job, off the back of a fantastic season at Bayer Leverkusen and his previous connections with the Reds as a player.
Speaking on the BBC’s Planet Premier League podcast, Fabregas voiced his firm belief that the 42-year-old would be capable of taking on the enormous challenge of replacing the legendary German.
The ex-Arsenal midfielder said of Alonso: “He’s a very intelligent guy. He’s been up there. He’s done it all and he knows the standards that are being set at Liverpool. The crowd love him and also I think he’s a really good coach. He’s got good ideas.
“Maybe he plays slightly differently but I think he’s got adaptability. I saw him around when he was the coach of Real Sociedad B, then now at Bayer Leverkusen. He does different things. He’s capable of adapting to the situation and to different types of players he’s got and he’s got the right mentality.
“He’s young, but the good thing about him is that he’s got very clear ideas. He’s an intelligent, stable guy and has the right personality. It’s a big shout, but I agree that he [would be] able to do it.”
Being the Liverpool manager to replace Klopp would be a very different challenge from working wonders at Leverkusen, but everything Alonso has shown in his managerial career so far suggests that he’d be made of the right stuff to take on that unenviable task.
If the 42-year-old is to be handed the reins, he’d have the firm backing of the Anfield faithful not just for his magnificent work in Germany but also because of his past as a world-class Champions League-winning hero with the Reds.
No manager will find it easy to follow in the footsteps of the current Liverpool boss, but the Spaniard would arguably benefit from a bigger backing than any other realistic contender for the job.
Alonso didn’t shirk the challenge of attempting to end Bayern Munich’s 11-year reign as Bundesliga champions, and he’d surely jump at the task of trying to replicate Klopp’s legacy if LFC were to give him the opportunity.
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