Alonso can be Liverpool's Guardiola and not Klopp 2.0

Tom Weber

• Updated: 27 Mar 2024 20:14 GMT
• 4 min read

Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen remind Germany legend Lothar Matthäus of Pep Guardiola's Barcelona - and he is not wrong.

Alonso is the hottest managerial commodity in football right now. His Bayer 04 side are on course to claim their maiden Bundesliga title, while also still challenging for the DFB-Pokal and the Europa League.

The Werkself have played some swashbuckling football for most of the season and they are yet to taste defeat despite cutting it close in recent matches, such as against Qarabag in Europe. What's particularly impressive about Bayer is that they have continued to get results despite some personnel problems this term.

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Star striker Victor Boniface has been out injured since December, while defensive rocks Edmond Tapsoba and Odilon Kossounou were away on Africa Cup of Nations duties at the start of the year. Despite this, Xabi Alonso's well-oiled machine just continues to chug along.

Is Alonso the new Pep?

Given how well Leverkusen have played under Alonso this term, it is unsurprising that Liverpool and Bayern Munich view him as their top target for their soon-to-be-vacant coaching positions.

The Basque boss has won plaudits for his tactical flexibility and squad rotation, particularly of late. At the start of the season, Alonso had a fairly settled line-up, at least for Bundesliga matches, but in recent times - partly due to the aforementioned absences - his Leverkusen regime has become a real meritocracy.

Ballon d'Or and World Cup winner Lothar Matthäus, who also recently spoke to FootballTransfers about Jadon Sancho, sees shades of Pep Guardiola's Barcelona in the way Alonso has his Leverkusen team playing.

"The football, the speed, the calmness on the ball, it's just fun," Matthäus said at a recent media event. "I could talk about them for half an hour. They remind me of Barcelona with [Andres] Iniesta, Xavi and [Lionel] Messi. That, to me, is Bayer Leverkusen."

"For me, they're currently the best team in the world in terms of the football they play. I don't want to compare them to Liverpool or Man City, but Leverkusen have been playing the best football I've seen this season."

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"The dominance, the swagger, the coolness. It's incredible how they still manage to turn games around. Bayer exude a winning mentality. You also have to mention that they have had to replace a lot of players because of AFCON and injuries...yet they never complained."

"Alonso has thus far always found a solution. Sometimes he gives a chance to young players. Sometimes he uses players in different positions, such as [Robert] Andrich [at centre-back]. That never led to unrest, there has not been any fuss at Leverkusen. Alonso has told the players that he trusts them and the players have repaid the faith."