Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has revealed Xabi Alonso’s comments that irked him just before he joined Anfield in 2004 – but explained why he still believes the Spaniard would be a ‘match made in heaven’ as the club’s next manager.
Alonso is the frontrunner to succeed Jurgen Klopp in the dugout after the German announced he would end his nine-year reign on Merseyside at the end of the season.
The former Liverpool midfielder is favoured for the role after winning admirers with the incredible work he is doing at Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.
And Carragher – who was a team-mate of Alonso’s for five years – provided an anecdote that left Liverpool players fuming – but one that he feels may demonstrate why the Spaniard could be a great coach and a motivating figure.
Jamie Carragher has revelaed Xabi Alonso’s comments that irked him before he joined Liverpool in 2004 amid rumours he could become the next Reds boss
Carragher said Alonso arrived at Anfield claiming he saw areas of improvement in the team
He revealed a chat with then-manager Rafa Benitez, who had spoken to the squad about Alonso’s impending arrival after he agreed a move from Real Sociedad.
He told The Redmen YouTube channel: ‘I remember Rafa saying – and don’t forget Xabi was only 22 – “We’ve got this player coming in, I think he’s a fantastic player. He’s already spoken about where the team can improve, other tactical things”.
‘And I’m reading this thinking, “Who the f***ing hell does he think he is? 22, coming over from Spain, telling us where we’re going wrong. F***ing let’s see you in the shirt first!”‘
Carragher said Alonso made it clear he was ‘interested in football’ at multiple levels and claimed the ex-Real Madrid man showed he ‘had his head screwed on’.
“We used to speak a lot about football, he added. ‘He [Alonso] was always someone who was interested in football and he did watch a lot of football.”
Alonso is seen as the frontrunner for the Liverpool job after leading Bayer Leverkusen to the top of the Bundesliga this season – with his side unbeaten
‘I remember Nottingham Forest were in the Championship and had a player called Kris Commons. I remember [Alonso] saying he liked him and watched him. I thought “he’s a player in the Championship”. That always stuck in my head. He was always one that people looked at and thought “he’s got his head screwed on”.
‘He led by example, he trained really well. A big part of being a manager is keeping your emotions in control. People thought I would become a manager but I was quite emotional and aggressive on the pitch, whereas [Alonso] was a lot calmer.
He knows what Liverpool fans wants and once that energy in the crowd gets going, if he was to become the manager, I do think it would be a match made in heaven.
‘It’s only whether Alonso wants to stay at Leverkusen and take them in to the Champions League. He’s only managed 60 or 70 games at the top level which is ideally not what you would want. But the situation you find yourself in, he is the stand out candidate.’
