Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso shared the pitch 165 times for Liverpool, winning the UEFA Champions League and FA Cup together.
Steven Gerrard on The Overlap Daily
Steven Gerrard on The Overlap Daily(Image: The Overlap Daily, brought to you by Sky Bet)
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Steven Gerrard has revealed that Xabi Alonso was his favourite to succeed Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager. The Chelsea boss, who was still in charge of Bayer Leverkusen at the time, was heavily linked with the vacancy in the dugout at Anfield a couple of years ago, but he chose to stay put.
In January 2024, when the German announced his plan to step down as the Reds gaffer at the end of the season, Alonso was midway through his second term at the helm of the BayArena, and just his first full campaign, having replaced Gerardo Seoane back in October 2022.
At the time, the Spaniard had begun to establish Leverkusen as the new powerhouse in Germany, going on to win the Bundesliga unbeaten and lifting the DFB Pokal. Alonso had also masterminded an excellent Europa League season, leading Die Werkself to the final.
So, at the end of the season, rather than jumping ship, he decided to stay, rolling out the red carpet for Arne Slot to take the reins at Liverpool. During an episode of the Overlap Daily, brought to you by Sky Bet, Gerrard revealed that Alonso was his favourite to replace Klopp.
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When asked whether he's spoken to the 44-year-old since becoming Chelsea manager, the Reds legend said: "A couple of times on messages, but not in terms of a call or face-to-face, but I'll bump into him. I'm sure I will, covering the games."
Gerrard continued: "I wanted him to come to Liverpool. At the time it was him or Slot, wasn't it? I mean, Slot done great winning the league in the first year, but I was wanting Xabi."
On whether he would've joined Alonso's coaching staff, had he become the new Liverpool manager in 2024, Gerrard said: "Would I have loved that? Yes, but I think Xabi's got his group that he had at Leverkusen.
"He's probably been trying to put that group of staff and team together for a long time. When he's been doing his coaching badges, when he was coming to the back end of his career, he's probably been thinking, well, if I do go down that road, I'd like to put this team together.
"He wouldn't need someone like myself, for example. It would have been fascinating to see him at Liverpool, but I'm really fascinated to see how he does at Chelsea."
Gerrard added: "I think he's started pretty well. They've had a couple of setbacks, and they've conceded probably too many goals if you go into it in fine detail, but he's got an exciting group of players.
"He's an exciting manager. I like the way he plays front foot, and I love the stuff he's done at Leverkusen, so he deserves this opportunity, and he's started pretty well. Pretty well. It's exciting."
When asked if Alonso could leave Chelsea to Premier League glory this term, Gerrard said: "I think they'll just be a bit shy. I think they'll blow 70, 80% of the league away. I think they've got too much attack and talent.
"I think they'll outscore 70 per cent of the league if they continue to play in this way. I think where they might come up a bit short is conceding goals. Have they got enough defensively to challenge for the league in year one?
"I would say they just fall a little bit short, but it's a good time for Chelsea, for their fans, looking forward. There's tons of good players in there. If they can keep recruiting well and improving personnel, I think with Xabi and his team, it won't be too far down the line when they challenge.
"But I think this year might be a bit too soon..."