“I had a similar situation.”
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has responded to the news that Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso has turned down the Liverpool and Bayern Munich job, to stay where he is at for next season.
Alonso had been tipped to replace Klopp ever since the German announced in January that he would be leaving Anfield, and given the Spaniard’s history of playing with the club and his connection with the fans, it seemed to be the natural fit.
However, this will not be the case, and speaking at the press conference ahead of Liverpool’s game against Brighton this Sunday, the current boss says that he understands Alonso’s position.
“The one part I can speak about is being a young manager where he’s doing really well,” he said.
“I had a similar situation and did pretty much the same and never regretted it. That’s pretty much everything I can say. Xabi is doing an incredible job there. Leverkusen has a really good team and could keep the team together next season.
“It doesn’t happen every year like that. I understand that he wants to do that.”
Klopp managed Mainz between 2001 and 2008, before he moved onto Borussia Dortmund where he continuously battled for the league against the German powerhouse that is Bayern Munich, despite having far fewer resources.
Alonso took Leverkusen when they were in the relegation zone, and pulled them right up into a top six position, but in his second year in charge, the improvements have been even more drastic.
Despite Munich’s stranglehold on the Bundesliga, Leverkusen are currently top of the table and look to be on course to win the whole which would be an achievement of monumental proportions.
Early today Alonso revealed that he had a discussion with those in charge at the club and made his decision to stay.
“There has been a lot of speculation around my future, we have been busy and focused and I wanted the international break to reflect a bit better.
“I had a very good meeting with the decision makers, and I decided to stay at Bayer Leverkusen. I feel this is the right place to develop as a coach. I have to feel it, and right now I feel this is the right place… my job is not over here.”
He went on to add: ‘For sure all the decisions needed to be analysed well and I tried to take the right ones. I tried to take them that I feel they come in a natural way and at this moment I felt that this is the best place for me to be, for me to develop as a coach.
“I am a young coach but I have to feel it and right now I feel that this is the right place and I have to thank the management, the club that has been really supportive.”
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