Liverpool urged to appoint Alonso as icon singles out Spaniard's "big advantage"
Liverpool icon Martin Skrtel has urged his former club to appoint Xabi Alonso as their next manager.
The Reds are on the search for a new boss, with Jurgen Klopp set to leave his post at the end of the season. Replacing Klopp is a huge task, given the way the German has turned the club around since arriving back in 2015.
Alonso has long been seen as his most likely successor, having led Bayer Leverkusen to the top of the Bundesliga table, with a 10 point advantage over perenial champions Bayern Munich.
The Spaniard spent 18 months playing alongside Skrtel at Anfield before joining Real Madrid. And the former defender believes his old team-mate would be the perfect man for the job.
Skrtel singled out his experience of playing for the Reds as being a crucial advantage to his candidacy. The Slovakian also believes that Alonso has proven he can deploy an attractive brand of football.
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“Whether he’s the right man is a question for the owners of Liverpool but there’s no doubt that Xabi has a lot of strengths. He played for Liverpool, he loves the club, he loves the city," Skrtel told The Athletic.
“I think knowing the club so well is really important because it’s not easy to come to Liverpool either as a player or manager. It’s a special place. There’s a lot of pressure to win trophies. Having already been there could be a big advantage for Xabi.
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Alonso's former Liverpool team-mate Martin Skrtel believes Alonso would thrive at the Reds (Clive Rose/Getty Images)“I was a bit surprised when he moved to Germany. What he’s done since then has been unbelievable. He’s doing such a great job. The way they play and how they dominate, even against a team like Bayern, it’s crazy. He’s still young as a manager but very successful and I hope he continues in this way.”
Alonso has insisted his full focus remains on Leverkusen and their title challenge. While he has admitted he does not know what the future holds, the Spaniard claimed he is happy with life in Germany.
"I have huge respect for Jurgen, huge admiration, before coming to Liverpool and during his years there it has become even bigger and it has grown, for what he has achieved and the way he has achieved that," Alonso said at the end of January.
"At the moment, I am really happy here, I am enjoying my work here. I am feeling that each day is a challenge, each game is a challenge. And we are in an intense but in a beautiful journey here in Leverkusen.
"I am trying to give my best to help my players be ready for the next thing and that's my goal. What will happen [in the future], I don't know. To be honest I am not in that moment to think about the next thing. I’m thinking about where I am right now.
"And I think that I’m in a great place and I am enjoying it. And I think it’s the right place. That’s all I can say. I don’t know what my pace [of my career] is. What is going to happen in the future, I don’t know, and I don’t really care at the moment."
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