Xabi Alonso has followed former team-mate Steven Gerrard into management and is set to make his managerial debut on Saturday when he leads out Real Sociedad B. But where does he stand on the possibility of taking over from Jurgen Klopp?
The 37-year-old is a Liverpool legend after helping the team win the Champions League in the 2004/05 season and the FA Cup the following year.
Alonso has won over fans in England, Spain and Germany after spells with Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich and over the course of his career he won the World Cup, the Champions League twice, as well winning La Liga and the Bundesliga titles.
However, he has gone back to his boyhood club to begin his managerial career, where he will manage the reserve team, who play in the third tier of Spanish football.
The former deep lying playmaker was born only 15 minutes from where Real Sociedad play, but when asked about managing Liverpool one day in the future, the club legend, while coy with his response, didn’t rule out the chance of it happening.
“Well at the moment they have an absolutely fantastic manager,” Alonso said.
“And we all as Liverpool fans are thrilled with Jurgen [Klopp], with what he’s doing.
“You could feel he was the man because of the way he embraced the Liverpool culture, the way he connected with the fans – you could see that he could make a great job.
“Even the best expectations he has fulfilled. He’s the man at the moment.”
However, in a recent interview Klopp, whose contract expires in 2022, hinted that he might retire when his current deal is finished.
“I hope to continue like this, but within two, three years I don’t know what may happen,” Klopp said.
“Maybe I’ll retire. That doesn’t mean it’ll happen, but if it does, don’t be surprised.”
And although it might seem like a big step for Alonso at the moment, several managers, such as Pep Guardiola and Zinedine Zidane, began their managerial careers with reserve teams in Spain.
And Alonso reiterated his special association with Liverpool as he declared “once a red always a red”.
“Watching the team lifting the Champions League and watching the fans enjoy it as much as we did in 2005, it brought back a lot of memories,” Alonso added.
“We [some of the 2005 team] were in the stadium, old team-mates gathering together again, Stevie [Gerrard], Jerzy [Dudek], Sami [Hyypia], we were together celebrating what they have achieved this year.
“It was really emotional. You know how special Liverpool is, once a red always a red and that’s not a slogan, that’s not a logo – it’s real and we share that belonging.
“Our generation that have been playing in the Champions League for many years, we’re almost taking a step back and taking steps into management.
“It’s part of the cycle of football but for me it’s great to follow Stevie, to follow Mikel [Arteta], to follow Frank Lampard – what he’s doing and so many young managers that are already there.”