Alonso’s cultured brand of football, combined with his intelligence and intuitive understanding of the club where he won the Champions League in 2005, made him the perfect fit for a squad which is already built to compete for the highest honours.
Klopp’s praise of the Bayer Leverkusen coach – describing him as the ‘stand-out’ among the next generation –served only to fuel those who believed Alonso ‘the chosen one’, as if the agreements were already in place behind the scenes.
Alas, there was no such choreography. Those early whispers that Alonso was not sure the time was right to follow Klopp became more audible, culminating in Liverpool realising they must move on to ensure they do not miss out on those they regard as equally strong candidates.
It should be emphasised that Alonso’s immediate emergence as a potential successor to Klopp was independent of his Liverpool connections. Had he never played for the club, those tasked with presenting data files on Europe’s hottest talents would hardly have ignored a 42-year-old on the threshold of breaking Bayern Munich’s stranglehold on the Bundesliga.
Liverpool’s next appointment will not be, and was never going to be, based on emotional ties. Liverpool can argue with some justification that the stirring of the soul whenever Alonso’s name was referenced was a strictly external exercise.
Nevertheless, at a club like Liverpool – especially in the immediate aftermath of Klopp’s era where high emotion has been a potent weapon – sentimentality should never be demeaned when players and coaches have the skills to match.
The advantage Alonso had over the rest was that he would not have had to work to create the same bond with the Kop that Klopp has enjoyed. It was cemented on that miraculous evening in Istanbul 19 years ago when he scored the equaliser in the 3-3 draw with AC Milan. Alonso would have been required only to say ‘hola’ to guarantee the patience and time required to tweak the team to serve his vision.
Now, the challenge for Edwards and incoming sporting director Richard Hughes is to find someone equally equipped to win hearts and minds.
Of the leading candidates still under consideration, Ruben Amorim or Roberto De Zerbi will have to rely on that old-fashioned virtue of first winning lots of football matches and delivering high level performances.
