Why Alonso Still Looks Right for Liverpool

I’m not having the idea that a messy spell at Madrid would automatically stain Alonso for Liverpool. Sometimes a manager walks into a dressing room that simply won’t be managed, and the real story is the culture, not the tactics board.

When big names start acting bigger than the club

The thing that jumps out, from a fan point of view, is the theme of entitlement. If you believe the reports and the public behaviour, Madrid have had moments where the squad’s attitude has been the headline more than the football. The Ballon d’Or boycott because Vinicius wasn’t going to win is the kind of childish, self-centred stunt that tells you plenty about priorities.

And once you get into that mindset, it becomes easy to see how a manager asking for basics, work, fitness, structure, could be met with players downing tools. That’s not “he couldn’t handle the job”. That’s the job turning on the person trying to do it properly.

Leverkusen is the real evidence

If you want to judge Alonso, judge him on the work where he actually got buy-in. What he did at Leverkusen is the bit that matters. He inherited a side in trouble, lifted them away from the bottom end, then pushed them up the table and into proper contention. The wider point is simple: he didn’t just make them nicer to watch, he made them harder, sharper, more consistent.

That, to me, is the manager Liverpool would be appointing. Not a bloke defined by whether a handful of superstars at another club fancied doing their running this week.

Why Liverpool shouldn’t overthink it

There’s also the human side. Alonso turning Liverpool down once because he didn’t feel ready is hardly a crime, it’s probably the most sensible thing he could have done at the time. And him taking the Madrid job? He’s Spanish, he played there, and when that call comes it’s not one many say no to.

If Liverpool are looking around and thinking about credible options, you can see why Alonso stays near the top of the list. He’s young, highly rated, and his best work suggests he can build a side that actually listens.

And if he did arrive, it’s not mad to think players who’ve worked with him before would want in. A manager who improves teams tends to attract talent. Liverpool have always been at their best when the dressing room is pulling one way. Alonso feels like the sort who’d demand exactly that.

Written by ViktorVaughan: 28 January 2026