Rafa Benitez Raises Fear Over Rise Of Xabi Alonso Amid Links To Liverpool

Former Liverpool manager, Rafa Benitez, has revealed his fear for the fast-rising football manager Xabi Alonso who is seen as a replacement for Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp.

Since Klopp announced that he will leave Liverpool at the end of this season, most Liverpool fans and football pundits have been trying to attract the attention of the club’s management to the wonderful work Xabi Alonso has been doing at Bayer Leverkusen.

Alonso is a football legend in terms of what he has done on the pitch as he has played at Bayern Munich, Liverpool, and Real Madrid before he retired from the game and took to coaching.

He became the coach of Bayer Leverkusen last season when the German Bundesliga side were struggling in the league. He helped them to qualify for the Europa League in a season they started as a relegation-threatened side.

So far this season, Xabi Alonso has not recorded any defeat in all competitions. He has gone 33 games without a defeat which in a record in Germany. He is currently topping the table in the German Bundesliga.

Due to this, he has become a highly suited manager but Rafa Benitez, who coached him at Liverpool during his playing days, is not too excited about the interest top clubs have in the 42-year-old Spanish tactician.

“He is a big name, good professional, good lad, clever, doing really well with Leverkusen so I understand why [Alonso is being linked],” Rafa Benitez told The Times.

“[But] imagine that Steven Gerrard could be around and doing well. Then it would be ‘Gerrard!’

“He has the potential to be a very good manager and if he has good players he will be successful, but then can he do it for five years, ten years? I don’t know.

“He can go to any top side now but they will be expecting to win the title. And if you finish second, maybe it’s a great season but people will say, “Oh, he’s failed”.”