Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has hailed Xabi Alonso after the latter’s impressive run at Bayer Leverkusen.
The former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder is among the names who could take charge at Anfield after Klopp announced last month that he will leave at the end of season.
Alonso has led Leverkusen from close to the bottom of the Bundesliga to a five-point lead at the top in the space of 16 months. The 42-year-old coach clinched a place at the German Cup semi-finals, while also beating serial champions Bayern Munich 3-0 last weekend.
"Xabi is doing an incredible job," Klopp said on Friday.
"If you would have asked me eight weeks ago about Xabi Alonso, I would have gone 'Oh my God!' Always what I said, the dinosaurs if you want, Ancelotti (Carlo), Mourinho (Jose), Guardiola (Pep), maybe me, we will not do it – okay, maybe Mourinho - but all the rest will not do it for the next 20 years.
"The next generation is already there and I would say Xabi is a standout in that department... Former world-class player, from a coaching family as well which helps a little, he was like a coach already when he was playing. The football he is playing, the teams he sets up, the transfers he did, it is absolutely exceptional."
Klopp added that he will play no role in finding his replacement as that is to be decided by the owners of the Merseyside club.
The 56-year-old, who bagged his fair share of achievements in the German league from his time at Borussia Dortmund, lauded Alonso's strategies despite only taking on the role in October 2022.
"How quick his team is that well tuned, for the time it's taken, he's put his proper stamp on it," Klopp added.