Football loves a strange pattern, and Liverpool supporters have just been handed one that links together the iconic Jurgen Klopp and the potential future manager Xabi Alonso.
Arne Slot is Liverpool’s head coach until he’s not, but if it goes how many have predicted and Liverpool’s interest in Alonso spurs a managerial change, he has already taken the first step on the Klopp path.
Before the German arrived and transformed Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers’ side battered Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund 4-0 at Anfield in August 2014. Then, a decade later, Slot’s Liverpool thumped Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 on Merseyside in November 2024.
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Steven Gerrard of Liverpool Legends inspects the pitch prior to prior to the Legends Charity Match between Liverpool Legends and Chelsea Legends at Anfield. Eddie Howe the head coach / manager of Newcastle United during the Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Newcastle United FC at Etihad Stadium.
Credit: LFC Foundation/Liverpool FC/Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images
Xabi Alonso got the Jurgen Klopp treatment at Anfield 10 years apart
The first part of this story came when Liverpool tore Dortmund apart through goals from Daniel Sturridge, Dejan Lovren, Philippe Coutinho and Jordan Henderson. It was only a pre-season friendly, but a proper 4-0 hiding.
That loss turned out to mean absolutely nothing for his future at Liverpool. Klopp would later arrive, rebuild the club, reconnect the fans and turn Anfield back into one of the most intimidating grounds in Europe.
Then came the Alonso version. Leverkusen actually controlled plenty of the first half before Liverpool exploded after the break, with Luis Diaz scoring a hat-trick and Cody Gakpo adding the other.
lUIS dIAZ FOR Liverpool FC v Bayer 04 Leverkusen - UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD4
Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
Alonso returned as a beloved former Red and ended the night on the wrong end of the exact same scoreline Klopp suffered 10 years earlier.
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In truth, none of this really matters when judging whether he would thrive as Liverpool manager one day. Football is never that neat.
Still, it is a brilliant coincidence. Liverpool smashed Klopp before he took the job, then did the same to Alonso a decade later. If he arrives this summer, he can only dream of enjoying the success Klopp did for nine years at the helm.
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