'Great coach' Xabi Alonso tipped for Liverpool success by former teammate

A former teammate of Xabi Alonso's has tipped the manager for success if he were to succeed Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.

The 42-year-old is the early frontrunner to become the next Reds manager, following Klopp's shock announcement to stand down from his role at the end of the season.

The legendary Liverpool boss revealed he is running out of energy in an announcement last month, calling time on his trophy-laden tenure that began back in 2015.

Alonso, who played for the Reds between 2004 and 2009, is currently the manager of Bundesliga-topping Bayer Leverkusen and is on course to land the club their first-ever top flight title, ending his former club Bayern Munich's run of supremacy.

One man who has backed Alonso to do well wherever his career takes him is his former teammate in Bavaria Claudio Pizarro.

“I think he [Alonso] can succeed everywhere he wants to go,” the ex-Peru international told FootballTransfers.

“I think what he is doing at the moment at Leverkusen [is excellent], what he did before at Real Sociedad as well.

“When he started you could see he was going to be a great coach. When I played with him, you knew that he was going to be a coach, he was talking to the players, doing that kind of job and you knew that he was a really experienced player and with that he could be a good coach.

“Wherever he wants to go, wherever he decides to go, I think he is going to do really well because he is a great coach, a great person and he was a great player as well - he understands everything about football and that’s very important.”

Alonso’s contract at Bayer Leverkusen runs until 2026, but reports claim Liverpool have already 'made contact' with him about becoming Klopp’s replacement.

There have also been suggestions that Alonso's deal at Leverkusen includes a break clause that will allow him to leave for one of his former clubs, while Liverpool aren't the only side linked with the former playmaker.

Marseille president Marseille president Pablo Longoria revealed that the World Cup winner turned down a shot at the French giants in 2022 and knows exactly the clubs he wants to manage in the future.

“It was after Jorge [Sampaoli], so I went to see him [Alonso]. He told me no with an elegance… The same elegance he had when he played football, a 40-yard crossbar in his feet," he told So Foot.

“He was telling me no. I should have been upset, but I almost wanted to thank him. You see that his brain goes at another speed. He knew exactly the three or four clubs he wanted to coach and was ready to wait for them.”