AN-FEAR-LD
I’m a former Liverpool and England star.. Xabi Alonso replacing Jurgen Klopp at Anfield would scare me
The legendary midfielder is the bookies' favourite to be the new king of the Kop
A FORMER Liverpool and England star has claimed that Xabi Alonso replacing Jurgen Klopp “would scare me”.
Reds supporters were rocked on Friday when the 56-year-old Klopp dropped the bombshell that he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season.
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Ex-Liverpool midfielder Alonso, 42, is the favourite with bookmakers to become their new boss with Reds legend Jamie Carragher believing that the Spaniard would be the ideal choice.
However, Carragher's former Reds team-mate Glen Johnson is not convinced that either Bayer Leverkusen boss Alonso or ex-Reds captain Steven Gerrard - currently managing in Saudi Arabia - would be the right man for the upcoming job.
Speaking to , he said: “I’d be a bit scared to appoint Xabi Alonso or Steven Gerrard.
“The next appointment is going to be really tough and I’d be worried about bringing someone in with so little experience.
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"Also, I think we’ve seen bringing a legend back to manage the club can often not work out.”
Klopp, 56, informed club chiefs of his decision to step down in NOVEMBER but his players and staff only learned of his exit last week.
Liverpool are now preparing for a huge change with Klopp’s assistants Pep Lijnders, Peter Krawietz and Vitor Matos also confirmed to be leaving while interim sporting director Jorg Schmadtke will depart his role this week.
And Johnson fears Liverpool could run into difficulty like Manchester United have post Sir Alex Ferguson.
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Johnson continued: “We’ve seen since Fergie left Man United, they still haven’t replaced him and we could see something similar here.
“These kinds of managers are extremely hard to replace, especially for someone with so little experience.
“Of course, in football timing is everything and this kind of dream job may not open up for them again so they’ll be tempted to take it, it will just be very hard to have the kind of success Klopp did.”
The ex-Mainz and Dortmund manager transformed Liverpool back into one of the game’s top sides since taking charge in October 2015 and achieved legendary status when ending their 30-year title drought in 2020.
Klopp also led the Reds to three Champions League finals - tasting success in 2019.
Johnson added: “You have to rank Klopp alongside Shankly and Paisley as the greatest Liverpool managers ever.
“They’ve been one of the top teams in the world for most of the time he’s been at the club and played brilliant football at a time when football is so competitive and there are so many great teams. He’s a Liverpool legend, for sure.”
Alonso previously coached in his homeland at Real Sociedad’s B side before taking charge of German club Leverkusen in 2022.
He led them to a sixth-placed finish during his first season in charge and the Europa League semi-final, and they are currently top of the Bundesliga after 19 games this term.
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