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Following the recent shock announcement by Jurgen Klopp to leave Liverpool Football Club at the end of the season, speculation has already begun as to who Klopp’s successor could be. The timing of the announcement may have been a surprise to many given Liverpool’s position at the top of the Premier League. However, it provides enough time for the owners to conduct due diligence on potential replacements.
In case they are following BestBlogAbout Sports page and for those who do, here’s an in-depth look at 5 potential candidates for the soon-to-be vacant position at the Anfield hot seat.
Xabi Alonso: Bayer Leverkusen
Probably the Number 1 choice of the owners and fans, Alonso is one of the outstanding coaches in Europe this season. Not only is his Bayer Leverkusen team sitting on top of the German Bundesliga, but they have yet to lose a game in the league this season.
Alonso’s tactics will be very attractive to Liverpool fans and he has a great education having worked with some of the best coaches during his time as a as a player in Guardiola, Mourinho, Ancelotti, Benitez all Champions league winners and Del Bosque, a World Cup winner. Alonso is very unique choice as a coach on the shortlist to become Klopp’s successor at Anfield as he played in Midfield with distinction for the club, famously scoring a penalty in the Champions League final in Istanbul.
His legend will mean he wont have anything less than 100% support by the fans if he were to arrive at Liverpool. He is a hands-on coach, known for coaching his players directly, providing examples how to pass and when to make runs in particular situations.
It all boils down to whether he has a stronger desire to return to his homeland Spain, as Real Madrid are heavily rumoured to be his next destination if indeed, he feels it time to leave Germany. If Leverkusen can win their first ever Bundesliga title, he may listen carefully to any offer that comes his way from Anfield or take the challenge of leading the German side into the Champions League to further test his tactical acumen and boost his credentials. There can be no doubt Liverpool will pursue Alonso’s signature knowing that Real Madrid and Paris Saint Germain are admirers of the Spanish coach.
Ange Postecoglou: Tottenham Hotspur
The Australian coach has not been a Premier League manager for a season as yet and has not won any trophies as a result. On paper, he still appears to have plenty to prove and would fall short to land the position. In reality, he would be a highly suitable appointment as Klopp’s successor, such is the impact that he has made at Tottenham Hotspur so far this season.
The brand of football Postecoglou cultivates -. affectionately known in N17 as ‘AngeBall’ made a similar impact last season in Glasgow as he guided Celtic to a domestic treble playing an exciting style of risk based front-foot football, using his fullbacks in a traditional attacking sense and in inverted positions to overload the midfield and to make under lapping runs as well as providing width – so this is a recently tried and tested methodology which is on his CV. The attractiveness and effectiveness of his system makes him amongst the hot favourites to land the role.
It’s highly unlikely that Daniel Levy, Tottenham’s chairman will part with his golden coach easily. It is probably going to take a request from Postecoglou to force a move if that is something he wants immediately. This week it was announced that Spurs are the financially strongest club in London so compensation won’t be a motivating factor for Levy.
Given the financial stability of the club, Levy will know he has to provide Postecoglou with the transfer budget he needs to keep him happy to move the club forward and more importantly, out of Liverpool’s immediate grasp. Liverpool may be happy to wait but will be aware that Manchester United also highly rate ‘Big Ange’ and may set their sights on him as a priority.
Roberto De Zerbi: Brighton and Hove Albion
The Italian coach was virtually unheard of before coming to England to take charge of Brighton and Hove Albion after Graham Potter left for Chelsea. However, after drawing 3-3 at Anfield in his first match in charge playing in a fearless and brave way in his first match, many people took note of his name. De Zerbi has gone on to change the way Brighton play and further enhance them as an effective and dynamic possession based team who have plenty of admirers because of the way they transition from defence to attack and play through the lines, taking bold risks with their passing.
What will further De Zerbi’s credentials to take the hot seat at Brighton will be how well Brighton have feared in their first season in the Europa League. They won their group playing without compromise and in exactly the same way, so his brand of football has been confirmed to be effective against European opposition with their varying playing styles. This will not be a surprise to those who have followed De Zerbi’s progress due to his successes at Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk.
His fast and fluid possession-based style, based on overloading flanks and automatically knowing where teammates will be situated will surely go down a treat at Anfield. He’s another hands-on coach who spends hours on the training field and becomes involved physically in the practice sessions.
The owner at Brighton and Hove Albion must be bracing themselves for a call sooner rather than later from a variety of clubs but may wince when they hear an American accent. The fact that Klopp has announced his decision to step down at the end of season gives them time to look for suitable replacements and knowing how organised Brighton are, it would not surprise me if they already have created a short-list . You get the feeling that if Liverpool call, Brighton will be happy to negotiate and not stand in De Zerbi’s way in becoming Klopp’s successor.
Michel: Girona
In Spain, La Liga can be described as the most technical of the big 5 European leagues but often gets criticised as being a predictable and perhaps the most predictable league as the winners are often the same: Real Madrid and Barcelona. Their dominance usually results in one of the teams ascending to the top of the table after 2 or 3 Gameweeks and staying there for the rest of the season.
Michel has changed that this season. Usually, to challenge the dominance of the two big teams in Spain you need to have a fairly big club to do so such Atletico or Valencia. Michel has not. He has put Girona,a small club approximately 100 miles for Barcelona on the map in World football, playing a style with a similar attractiveness to their big Catalonian brother at the Nou Camp.
Their current success has been built by Michel, in that they continually create chances and at the same time are hard to dominate for opposing teams. They play a rotation style football where players move to occupy different positions similar to Hungary’s radical football of the 50’s and the Dutch ‘Total Football’ of the 70’s. Theres an emphasis on possession and overloading which is brilliantly explained in ‘The Football Purist’s’ video here below:
Girona currently sit on top of La Liga so far only losing once all season in the league and whilst they may not win, it’s very possible that they will play Champions League football next season. Their progress will be of concern to Barcelona and Atletico Madrid but if Michel is to be tempted to a move to the Premier League, he may want to take the challenge of elite European Football at Girona, without the pressure of following in Jurgen Klopp’s footsteps.
However, the challenge of testing his fellow countryman Pep Guardiola directly with Man City closest rivals may be too good to turn down if he is offered the role of Head Coach at Liverpool. Then, there’s also the fact that Girona chairman is Pep’s brother and the ownership of the club is the City Group led by Sheik Mansoor who also owns Manchester City. So, is he being groomed as Guardiola successor or is he prepared to break ties and take is own opportunities? I guess we will have to wait and see.
Fernando Diniz: Fluminense
So far, we have not seen a huge influx of South American coaches in the Premier League but we have seen the ones that have come over and manage squads to have a huge influence over their teams and have a fresh approach to the norms of the game as we have defined it in Europe. Fernando Diniz, the Brazilian coach of Fluminense, despite being an outside bet is perhaps the most forward thinking coach in world football today, and is having increasing influence with the younger generation of coaches around the world.
Diniz has a playing style which is highly attractive to the eye, playing football in tight spaces with a commitment to moving the ball quickly. You will find his teams are required to play one touch and one-twos and express themselves to move up the pitch as opposed to appreciating space and moving the ball side to side to created spaces and passing lanes. The ‘Football Purist’ provides further details into this revolutionary style which you can digest below.
The fact that he won Campeonato Carioca 2023 and the Copa de Libertadores 2023 with Fluminense and reached the World Club championship finals where they lost to Manchester City adds heavily to his credentials. However, Diniz has currently been given the job of Brazil National team coach on an interim basis whilst the CBF decide which coach to appoint next. This should indicate that he is highly rated in terms of his football philosophy.
There are a few factors that might hold up his move to Anfield. Does he want the Brazilian job? It’s heavily rumoured that Brazil will opt for a European coach but it may be that if the CBF do not appoint Guardiola, Mourinho, Ancelotti or even opt for heavy metal football in Klopp, then the job is his. Does he want to manage in Europe after working in Brazil for such a long time?
His football philosophy is radically different to anything in Europe and that may put off the owners at Liverpool in making him Klopp’s successor. It may be too much of a transition and therefore a big a risk to the stability they currently have domestically and in Europe.
So what do you think about the candidates so far? Liverpool fans let’s be having you! Is Stevie G the rightful heir to the throne? Is Julian Nagelsmann a better option ? Should the club go for Diego Simeone or use this time to try and convince Klopp to change his mind? Let us know in the comments below
Until next time – Auf Weidersehen!
