Jurgen Klopp will leave Liverpool at the end of the season, and Xabi Alonso is already odds-on to replace him. But would the Bayer Leverkusen boss be able to bring his incredible brand of attacking football to Anfield, or would the change simply be too much for him at this very early stage of his managerial career? Adam Clery takes a bumper look at both sides of the argument.
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00:00Okay, so maybe you've not watched a lot of Das Bundesliga this season, which is, that's
00:07understandable.
00:08You're a busy guy, you've got other things to do, so let me tell you how Leverkusen play.
00:12Theoretically, it's a 3-4-2-1, but it's also so much more fun than that.
00:17The easiest way to describe it, okay, is it's a system based around three centre-backs who
00:22really do actually want you to press them, then two wing-backs who operate as a second
00:27centre-forward and a number 10, then two actual number 10s who just do whatever the
00:32f**k they want.
00:33So we'll start at the back, right, Alonso tries to pick the same 11 wherever possible,
00:36he really values that consistency and that sort of team blend it gives him.
00:40So we've normally got De Sovere, Tha and Kosa now, which I am, I would say 75% sure I've
00:47pronounced correctly.
00:48And all three of them fit a very similar profile.
00:51They're all very strong on the ball, they do not get bullied, they're excellent at defending
00:55set-pieces, but they're also really, really comfortable in possession, they're very difficult
00:59to press, they make good angles, they receive the ball in tight spaces, they're pretty much
01:04the perfect modern centre-back.
01:05And then ahead of them, we have Ezequiel Palacios and Granachaka, yes, that Granachaka and between
01:11the five of them in the build-up phase, they just try and find angles.
01:15When they get pressed, you get these two scuttling around horizontally like little crabs who
01:19want to receive the ball while they find the angles between the goalkeeper, the defenders
01:23and these two midfielders.
01:25And if you are stupid enough to commit lots of players forward, this is how they get through you.
01:30And they are so effective at doing this that it sort of lures the opposition into committing
01:34more and more players forward to try and stop them.
01:37Like if you only press them with one attacker, then they're very good at just making that
01:40triangle around them, moving the ball side to side until some space frees up down the flanks.
01:45If you press them with two and then even sort of mark the wing-backs and the central midfielders
01:48with your next line of players, then what they'll do is that really clever like Brighton
01:53style bounce pass where one of the centre-backs will inevitably get free, it'll come into
01:57the central midfielder who even with a player in his back can then straight away knock a
02:01ball into the free centre-back and they're really happy to just push up the pitch themselves.
02:06And then all of a sudden, what's this guy doing other than filling his kecks?
02:10And then what are you going to do?
02:11Go man-to-man, so commit seven players to the press to try and stop these ones from
02:15getting on the ball.
02:16Okay, great, say Leverkusen, you've effectively left us three on three in your own half.
02:21And that's how they build up, but the really, really, really fun part of this side is in
02:26these two wing-backs.
02:27Alex Grimaldo and Jeremy Frimpong might be the two most fun players in all of European
02:34football right now because yes, okay, they're defenders and they can drop back and form
02:39a back four for Leverkusen if they really need to, if they're trying to be solid and
02:43they're trying to be compact.
02:44But as we know, as we've discussed on this channel a hundred times, defending is for
02:50nerds.
02:51So, and yes, it is heat map time, what have they really been doing this season?
02:55Well, this is Jeremy Frimpong's heat map of this season, and I'm just going to give that
02:59a little second to really sit with you, and this is Alex Grimaldo's.
03:04Two defenders there who could not be doing less defending if they were deathly allergic
03:09to their own 18-yard box.
03:11What's made this work really well for Leverkusen though is that it's easy to look at that and
03:14just go, oh, they've got really attacking wing-backs, but they both do very, very different
03:18jobs on either side of the pitch.
03:19If we just focus on Frimpong's heat map, first of all, you can see that he ends up in and
03:23around the box quite a lot, and as a result, if we go and look at the numbers, no defender
03:28in all of European football has touched the ball in the opponent's box more times this
03:34season.
03:35And I love it when you get a stat where someone is at the very top of it, because it's not
03:38just that he's doing this a lot, it's that no one else in the game is doing it like he
03:43is.
03:44And as a result, at the time of me recording this, which is ahead of them playing Bayern,
03:47he's got like five goals in the league this season, six assists, no defenders had more
03:52shots on goal, none of them have got a higher XG.
03:54The numbers he's posting in this system, extraordinary.
03:58And you can understand that as well, because if he's getting so close to the other centre
04:01forward, occupying those same central goal scoring zones, he's effectively the responsibility
04:07of the opposition centre-backs.
04:09And how on earth are they meant to mark a player whose starting position is at wing-back?
04:14As for Grimaldo though, he is slightly different.
04:16If we look at his heat map, yeah, it's just as attacking, but you'll see he doesn't get
04:20into the box and do the same kind of thing Frimpong does.
04:23He kind of operates in this sort of half space right here.
04:26We'll talk about how he's able to operate in this sort of space when you've literally
04:29got Florian Wurz right there in just a second, but where Frimpong's numbers sort of make
04:33him look like this live wire penalty box striker, Grimaldo's posting the same kind of numbers
04:39as like an elite chance creator.
04:41In terms of defenders in this league, nobody has more assists than he does, like 10 already
04:46or something.
04:47Nobody puts the ball into the penalty area more than he does, and he's right at the very
04:50top of the statistics for things like key passes and all the other chance creation metrics
04:55you would want to see a number 10 thriving in.
04:58But yes, to rewind slightly, why would you want your left wing-back in this position
05:01if you've got Florian Wurz, who's brilliant in that position?
05:04And I don't know if you recall me saying this, but those two number 10s basically do whatever
05:09they like.
05:10And this, you see, is Florian Wurz's heat map from across the Bundesliga this season.
05:15As you will note, yes, he is primarily playing on that left-hand side in the number 10 role,
05:19but also he's playing wherever he wants.
05:23It is similar for Hoffman on this side.
05:25He is sort of expected to go where he's needed, but because Frimpong will always be making
05:30that outside run, never looking to get into this space and looking for service as he gets
05:34into the box, it's kind of more important that he is more static.
05:38So when the ball does come to him, they know exactly where it can go.
05:41But because Grimaldo is also excellent in this position, it means Wurz is free to just
05:45read the game and decide himself where he's needed.
05:48So he will come across to Hoffman to create overloads and double up.
05:51He will get up next to the centre forward to be on the end of chances.
05:55He will go out wide to allow Grimaldo to, and they said come inside him there, to underlap
06:00him, that's the word.
06:01And also he'll drop back into the midfield in case they need an extra body there.
06:05Now you could make this statement about more or less any of them, but I personally think
06:08Wurz is the most important player in this system because Leverkusen have a very set
06:13style, a set system.
06:15They know what they're going to do.
06:16You know where a lot of their players are going to try and be.
06:19The freedom afforded to him means that they can effectively problem solve on the fly.
06:24There was a really good example of this the other day in the DFP Pokal, which I'm never
06:28sure if I say right, cup quarterfinal against Stuttgart.
06:31Leverkusen were behind, they were losing, Stuttgart weren't exactly in control of the
06:35game, but it certainly did feel like they had a lot of answers to this side.
06:40So Wurz went and changed the questions.
06:43You can see here Leverkusen are trying to build out in that back five we discussed and
06:46Stuttgart are being really disciplined.
06:49All the players who they want to get the ball into, they've got well marked, they're pushing
06:53out at the right times, but they're not getting lured in to press the centre backs and leave
06:57any space.
06:58So no matter where the wing backs or the 10s go sort of horizontally, they're being tracked
07:02by their markers.
07:03What Wurz decides to do is test how far he's willing to go on the other axis instead.
07:08And he doesn't just drop a little bit deeper, he goes all the way into the double pivot
07:12with Xhaka and Palacios and allows them to form these sort of two triangles.
07:17I know that's a shape where it's one on, it's not a rhombus is it?
07:20It's got a weird name.
07:22What's that called?
07:23It's called a Lakota symbol and there's something to do with like Native Americans, Wiccans
07:28and spirituality.
07:29It's a rabbit hole, I'm not going down.
07:31Anyway, Wurz forms the accursed symbol and you can even see his marker here pointing
07:35at him, telling the rest of his team, I can't really go there with him.
07:40You guys are going to have to sort that out.
07:41And of course, before they can think about how they will sort that out, he gets on the
07:45ball, he gets turned and all of a sudden, the space that had been denied every other
07:48player in that area, he's just got.
07:50And this is where you just need that little extra bit of quality because they've made
07:53the substitution, they've taken Hoffman off for Adly, who's more of a direct runner rather
07:57than a static presence in that position.
07:59He gets his head up, he sees him and he plays the most perfect way to pass in behind that
08:04really high stooped guard line.
08:06Now, of course, this is all really good in theory and it's a really clever system that
08:10undoubtedly should have seen Leverkusen having a good year, but there's a really subtle moment
08:14in this, which I think tells you why they're not just having a good year, but possibly
08:18just an unbelievable one.
08:20The centre forward here, who I think at this point is Schick, knows what Wurz is going
08:25to do.
08:26He knows this pass isn't going to be for him.
08:28There is not a lot of space for this ball to go through and it's very conceivable this
08:32defender could leave his man to cut that out.
08:35So Schick holds him there, physically stops him closing off that passing lane.
08:41This is not somebody who's played every minute in this side.
08:43He's only started four games for them in the league this season and yet he's so well drilled
08:48by Alonso, he sort of instinctively knows what's coming here and what his role in that
08:53should be.
08:54And I really do think that's quite important because this is still Chabby Alonso's first
08:58proper job in management.
08:59This is still technically his first full season as a senior coach at a club.
09:05So it'd be very easy to look at what's going on and say, ah, it's just circumstances.
09:09Some of the players are having great seasons, things have just clicked irrespective of what
09:13he's doing.
09:14But I think when you look at the overall coaching, how well drilled they are, how everybody seems
09:18to know these jobs, it says a lot about what he's done with them.
09:22Now I am aware the point of this video is to assess his suitability for Liverpool and
09:26you might have heard all of that and thought, it doesn't really sound very Liverpool to
09:30me.
09:31Well, what about this?
09:32Yes, Leverkusen are disciplined and they do build out from the back.
09:36And if we look at this lovely graph from Opta that I like to pretend I understand, they
09:39have a more slow and intricate play style than even Bayern Munich.
09:44But they do also lead the entire Bundesliga, that's starting to feel problematic, in the
09:50number of shots they get from high turnovers.
09:53They are very patient, yes, but they also got that dog in them.
09:57One of the advantages they have of being able to build the ball through the lines the way
10:01they do is that by the time they do normally fashion a chance, the entire team has moved
10:05quite high up the pitch.
10:07So when it does break down or they lose the ball or it just gets turned over, they're
10:10in a really good position to then effectively crash the opposition to try and win it back
10:15as quickly as possible.
10:16Now, if that sounds like Jurgen Klopp's gag impressing style to you, that's because, well
10:20it is.
10:21Essentially, they are trying to play the entire game of football as close to the opposition's
10:26goal as they can, be that attacking or defending.
10:29And as a result, in terms of the number of touches teams have in either their own box
10:33or the defensive third, Leverkusen are bottom.
10:36But in terms of the number of touches they have in the attacking third, Leverkusen are
10:40top.
10:41In terms of the number of tackles teams make in their own defensive third, Leverkusen are
10:46bottom.
10:47But in terms of the number of tackles made in the attacking third, Leverkusen are top.
10:51For them, the pitch pretty much just starts here.
10:55Gonna really blow your mind here, because you're smart and intelligent, you're probably
10:58thinking it probably requires a really high line that Adam, you're really committing a
11:02lot of players forward.
11:03I bet they're shipping a lot of goals on the counter-attack this season.
11:07None, zero, only team in the entire Bundesliga to not concede a single goal on the counter-attack.
11:13Because yes, while they do push really high up, they've got five really good, just sort
11:18of strong, steely defenders in this part of the pitch, and they just shut that sh** down.
11:24Alright, so that is Leverkusen 1-0-1 for you, but would this work at Liverpool?
11:31Well, let's just do a quick stock take of the XI and the system and just see if it's
11:35a decent fit.
11:36I would say Alisson, absolutely perfect for this role.
11:39You want a goalkeeper who can play out from the back and can sweep up in behind.
11:42Perfect.
11:43Then at centre-back, you want three players all with a similar profile, quick, strong,
11:46excellent on the ball, can pick a pass here and there and don't mind carrying it forward
11:50themselves.
11:52Van Dijk, absolutely perfect.
11:54Kwanzaa could maybe do that on the left, maybe a little bit unproven.
11:58You'd want to go buy a third one there, I think.
12:00Or Joe Gomez could play there.
12:01I forgot about Joe Gomez, sorry.
12:03And then in the double pivot, again, you want a bit of physicality.
12:06You can't be getting bullied during the press, but your control has to be excellent because
12:10you're going to be receiving that ball under pressure a lot.
12:12You need to be able to face your own goal.
12:13You need to be able to get turned in tight spaces and play it forward.
12:17And Endo, Gravenberg, McAllister in particular, Liverpool pretty well stocked in that department.
12:23Now, wing-back is tricky because you do want two players who function really well as conventional
12:27full-backs and can do defending all the way down that side, but also possess an incredible
12:32engine to get all the way up the pitch when needed.
12:35Now, if we just sort of flip over the way they're doing this, I actually think Andy
12:38Robertson could do that Frimpong job really, really well.
12:42He could bomb up all the way that side.
12:43He loves to get in the box.
12:44He would chase things down.
12:46He's a goal threat.
12:47If needed to be, he probably works there.
12:49But in the chance creation role, though, Alexander-Arnold's not a particularly good fit.
12:53Like, don't get me wrong, purely in that 10 position, he'd be fantastic.
12:57Obviously, the passes he could pick out would be second to none, but half the job is being
13:01able to sprint back and get into position and not get caught out, and that might be
13:07something he really struggled at.
13:08You would see teams desperately targeting the space in behind him.
13:12So we'll just hang a little question mark here for the time being.
13:15Number 10s.
13:16Well, Liverpool don't play with any number 10s.
13:19However, they do have an absolute embarrassment of riches in their attacking number eight
13:25roles, and Liverpool are so on the front foot and they expect so much work in and around
13:29the box from these players, they convert very easily.
13:32I would say Dominic Szabozlai was possibly even born to play one of those roles.
13:36Given you're going to want one who can be a little bit more static and pick out a teammate
13:39and one who can just do absolutely everything everywhere, I don't think Liverpool would
13:43have any problems at all picking those players out of their current squad.
13:47Like we've already said, Szabozlai, but Jones, Elia, I could see Jotter even doing that to
13:52an extent. They'd be fine there.
13:54And then up front, you just want a classic centre forward who likes to stay between the
13:58goalpost, has good link-up play and can finish.
14:01And in every regard but the finishing, and he will get there, that's Darwin Nunes.
14:06So that's actually, across the pitch, a really good fit.
14:10But also, no, it isn't.
14:13Neither of these number 10s is really tasked with being much of a box presence at all.
14:17In fact, Wirtz and Hoffman both work exceptionally because they know not to go in that area,
14:21which would be a complete waste of Mo Salah.
14:24And likewise, Trent Alexander-Arnold is somebody Liverpool should be looking to build the feature
14:29of their side around.
14:30And he's not a particularly good fit in the double pivot role because he's a little bit
14:33sort of lightweight. You could see him getting targeted.
14:36He would leave too much space behind playing as one of the wing backs.
14:39And even if you just stuck him as one of the 10s, again, he's maybe not quite got the
14:42mobility horizontally across the pitch.
14:44Don't get me wrong, you could do a lot worse than putting him in one of these positions,
14:48but you could also have a much better fit.
14:51And part of the reason this Leverkusen side have done so well is because Alonso was very
14:55big on identifying the right profile of player for the positions.
14:59Trent isn't that.
15:00So it's a really, really great fit for a lot of this Liverpool side.
15:04But also, it's not a particularly good one for two of the most important players.
15:08Both on the field and off it.
15:10So that's less than ideal.
15:12But then again, at the same time, if we look at the sort of philosophies Alonso appears
15:16to have, he wants a high pressing side who works really hard off the ball.
15:20Big tick for that current Liverpool squad.
15:22But he also wants him to be really, really good in possession, which is what Klopp has
15:26been building towards over the last two years.
15:29He's less about the getting impressed, more about controlled possession.
15:33And this Leverkusen side are a really good balance of the two.
15:36So is Xabi Alonso a good fit for Liverpool?
15:39Well, yes, he really, really, really is in the long term.
15:43However, in the short term, he would face a fairly major challenge for making this system
15:48work for a number of its biggest players.
15:50Like we mentioned Alexander-Arnold and we mentioned Salah.
15:52But also, I don't know where Diaz goes in this.
15:55I said Jota could potentially be one of those tens, but it's not a good use of him.
15:59And the problem with that is that the competition for Champions League places and for trophies
16:03is as intense as it has ever been.
16:06And no top side can really afford to have a sluggish start to a new managerial reign
16:12because they've got the speed bump of short term problem.
16:15And if you don't believe that, look at Manchester United.
16:19But if you're looking for a personal opinion on this, I would say, yeah, God, absolutely.
16:23He looks amazing.
16:24Go and get him in tomorrow if you can.
16:26Like it's way too soon to know whether or not Xabi Alonso was cut out to manage at the
16:30really, really top end of European football consistently.
16:34But when do you ever know for definite that's going to work?
16:37And as for some members of the Liverpool squad not being a natural fit for this system he's
16:41playing, he's only been playing it for like eight or nine months.
16:45Systems always adapt.
16:47The challenge is not how could Xabi Alonso make the Liverpool side play this brand of
16:51football.
16:52The challenge is how could he bring in this brand of football with that Liverpool side?
16:56Like, think about it, that 4-3-3 that Jurgen Klopp won the European Cup and the Premier League with.
17:02He didn't use that at Dortmund.
17:03He had the Gegenpress, but he had it in a 4-2-3-1 because that worked better for that group of players.
17:09Like the guy got there and was like, nah, I'm not going to bother with a double pivot.
17:12I've got Fabinho.
17:13I don't need it.
17:13I'll just stick another man up front.
17:15And he did.
17:16And they went and won absolutely everything.
17:18So Xabi Alonso's Liverpool might not look anything like Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen, but
17:23that's why you get those top, top jobs.
17:26The ability to go from one to the other and still be a baller.
17:30Anyway, I am almost certain that is the longest video we've ever done.
17:33And I am desperate for a wee, so I'm going to sign off right there.
17:36If you're still with us at this point in the video, thank you so much.
17:39And if you haven't yet already subscribed, please do consider it.
17:41If you're a Liverpool fan, we've got something absolutely massive coming up that you won't want to miss.
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17:48It helps us out a whole bunch.
17:49And I'm very, very grateful when you do.
17:51In the meantime, I am on all the socials because, of course, I am at AdamCleary, C-L-E-R-Y,
17:56and the 442 handles there in the corner of the video.
17:58You should check those out as well.
17:59And yes, thank you so much for watching.
18:02I did so much research for this.
18:04So if you'd like to share it around with your friends, that would mean a whole heap and a bunch to me.
18:09Plus, I'm now obsessed with Leverkusen.
18:10So that's almost certainly the kiss of death on them winning the league.
18:14Very sorry. Auf Wiedersehen.
18:17Goodbye.