Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has praised Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso as the "standout" among a new generation of football coaches.
Alonso is the strong favourite to take over at Anfield with Klopp set to leave the club at the end of the season. The 42-year-old's Bayer Leverkusen team sit top of the Bundesliga, five points clear of perennial champions Bayern Munich, who they swept aside 3-0 last weekend. "Xabi is doing an incredible job," said Klopp ahead of Liverpool's game against Brentford on Saturday. "The football he is playing, the teams he sets up, the transfers he did, it is absolutely exceptional." As a player, midfielder Alonso spent five seasons with Liverpool between 2004 and 2009, making 210 appearances for the club.
He scored as Liverpool beat AC Milan to win the Champions League in 2005 and also won the FA Cup, Uefa Super Cup and Community Shield before moving to Real Madrid and then Bayern.
Alonso took over at Leverkusen in 2022 and has overseen a steady improvement in results. They are unbeaten in all competitions this season, with them having reached the DFB Pokal semi-finals and the last 16 of the Europa League on top of their outstanding Bundesliga performance.