Fenway Sports Group promised a lengthy and exhaustive process that led Liverpool to Arne Slot – and that means there will be no regrets over Xabi Alonso
The Morrison’s inside the Shell Garage outside Anfield did a roaring trade on Monday evening as hungry journalists descended in their droves in search of sustenance while they waited for a certain Xabi Alonso.
Having sat through Arne Slot and Caoimhin Kelleher’s 3:30pm press conference to preview Tuesday’s visit from Bayer Leverkusen, the reporters who would usually shuffle away shortly after ensured they stuck around an extra four hours or so to hear from Alonso ahead of a Champions League fixture full of undoubted narrative and subplots aplenty.
For the former Liverpool-midfielder-turned-Bundesliga-winning-manager of Leverkusen, the return to L4 no doubt represented a surreal moment for Alonso, but the 2005 Champions League winner with the Reds was understandably full of warm words for the venue he called home for five, often majestic years between 2004 and 2009.
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The prospect of Alonso previewing Champions League fixtures in the Anfield press room was something many had begun to dream about just a few months ago when it looked as though the former Spain star might be in the crosshairs of a club looking to move on from the glorious era of Jurgen Klopp.
And it spoke to the significance of Alonso’s Merseyside return that so many reporters stayed behind to hear from the visiting manager ahead of Tuesday’s European clash. Rarely has the boss of the away team garnered so much attention from those covering the Reds on a day-to-day basis.
When Klopp’s bombshell decision to step down as Liverpool manager dropped in late January, the focus on his would-be replacement was quickly trained onto Alonso.
Liverpool CEO Billy Hogan, who flanked Klopp for that hastily-arranged yet historic press conference on Friday, January 26, stated that the choice of successor would involve a lengthy and exhaustive process and club owners Fenway Sports Group, having been made aware of Klopp’s intentions as early as November, felt they had ample time to ensure their next move was the right one.
The restructuring of the club involved the return of Michael Edwards as CEO of football for owners FSG and it was his headhunting of Richard Hughes as sporting director that inevitably intensified the speculation around Alonso.
By mid-March, the former Real Madrid star was well on course to becoming a Bundesliga champion with Leverkusen; a feat he later achieved as an ‘Invincible’ as Bayer went the entire domestic campaign without defeat. Such an achievement did not go without recognition and speculation inevitably began to rage about the prospect of Alonso returning as Klopp’s successor.
Having recruited Andoni Iraola to the job as Bournemouth boss last summer, Hughes has a good relationship with Inaki Martinez, the agent who also looks after Alonso and for many, that link made an approach inevitable. Some supporters had started to dream about the prospect of their former midfield maestro pitching up as manager.
Privately there were even some business partners of Alonso’s at the time who were indicating their belief the Leverkusen boss would be taking charge at Anfield, but within a fortnight of Hughes’s confirmation, the Leverkusen coach was in front of the media in Germany publicly committing himself for at least another another year.
“We have had a lot of speculation regarding my future,” Alonso said. “Until now we have had so many games, been pretty busy and focused, and I wanted to reflect during the international break and take a decision.
“The players gave me so many reasons to keep believing in the team – for their commitment, for their desire, for their hunger to have a great season. My job is not over here.”
Liverpool have always privately insisted that Alonso’s public declaration ruled him out of consideration for the process that eventually drove them to Slot. Contrary to claims, the search for Klopp’s replacement only really gathered pace in April when Hughes flew to Rotterdam to meet the Dutchman before shaking hands on a three-year deal.
And while the appointment of Alonso carried with it spades of romanticism for a club famed for such notions, there are few who are quibbling after Slot‘s start of 13 wins from 15 games; a run which has taken them to both the summit of the Premier League and the revamped Champions League, where they start match-day four level on points with Aston Villa.
Asked about what makes his counterpart so “special” as a manager, Slot commented: “That’s difficult to say if you don’t work with him on a daily basis. That he is special, that’s clear.
“If you go to a club that was bottom of the league and with the same players you bring them all the way up without spending that much money in that summer, only bringing in one or two very good players, and they had the season [that they had].
“They only lost the final of the Europa League, it tells you that he is special. What it is that makes him special is difficult for me to say because I haven’t faced him yet and I haven’t worked with him.
“What might be the situation is that he’s worked with very good managers in the past, he was a player with incredible insight in the game, he knew when to be where and he played at the highest levels so he knows and understands how these players feel in certain moments.
“That probably contributes to what makes him a good manager. How he is exactly so special? The best way to find that out is to talk to the players he has worked with and I haven’t done that yet.”
Slot may well get the opportunity to find out exactly what makes Alonso, one of the most promising young coaches in Europe, a “special” case on Tuesday night, but those filing into Anfield on the evening will have no regrets given how their own head coach has started on Merseyside.
