Should Xabi Alonso pick Liverpool, Bayern or Barcelona?
If you were Xabi Alonso, would you pick Bayern Münich, Liverpool or Barcelona – or wait for the Real Madrid job to come open? Natalie
Reports in Germany at the end of last week suggested that Munich is now Alonso’s preferred destination, which feels a little disappointing. He’s almost certainly going to lift the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen this season and I’m not entirely clear why, having won the league on hard mode, he would now try to do it again on an easier setting. Yes, the way the Uefa coefficient works means that there’s likely to be a relatively straightforward passage into the quarter-finals of the Champions League, and experience in that competition is the one thing still missing from his CV, but it still seems an unambitious step. Leaving Leverkusen makes sense given his stock cannot really climb any higher there and repeating this season’s feat is so unlikely, especially with players probably going to be sold this summer. Barcelona seems an improbable destination given his Madrid connections and his assumed desire at some point to become Madrid manager. While there’s probably a little trepidation at being Jürgen Klopp’s successor. Liverpool looks ideal – and, unlike Bayern or even Madrid, it’s not necessarily a job that’s going to be available every couple of seasons.
Why is Gareth Southgate being linked to the Manchester United job? Would his style with England translate to club football? He has been out of the club management for 15 years. Damien
The why is easy: he’s a successful English manager with strong name recognition even among execs with little specialist knowledge. This summer feels like it’s going to be one of great turbulence, with a lot of major clubs looking for new managers and the sense that a lot of the experienced names are out of the running. There’s a real chance for one of the upcoming generation of coaches to accelerate their careers but, amid the uncertainty, Southgate is a solid, reliable name.
Would he work at club level? Maybe
– but, as you hint, there’s very little evidence. His record at Middlesbrough was fine without being exceptional and included relegation in 2008. He seems ideally suited to the demands of international football, particularly the diplomacy and big-picture developmental work, but that’s very different from club management. Half the battle at international level is making the players feel they want to play for their country, creating a calm and welcoming environment, while the lack of time available on the training pitch means that tactics are necessarily less complex than in the club game. Perhaps Southgate
could make the adjustment; the problem is that we just don’t know.
What’s next for Xavi? It seems he was made for the Barcelona job. Could you see him coaching in the Premier League? Bradley
To be honest, I was surprised Barcelona won the league last season. I have some sympathy with Xavi in that the club at the moment is clearly in a mess with mounting debt and the various restrictions on spending, but I’ve never been convinced by him as a coach: he spouts the Pep Guardiola doctrine but with little evidence he is able to implement it or develop it according to circumstance. The defeats to Bayern in the Champions League last season were predictable, but I thought Xavi fared pretty poorly against Inter and then, in the Europa League, Manchester United.
His regular bleating about opponents who didn’t play the game the way he wanted them to just sounded petulant, as though he couldn’t quite accept that the opposition were allowed to try to win, rather than existing to permit Barcelona to put on an exhibition of Guardiolismo. I really don’t know where he goes next: his name means he will probably remain in demand for at least one or two more jobs, but I’d be very surprised if he ends up in the Premier League.
Are you happy with a penalty shootout as the way to settle a cup competition or a tournament? I’m not, and I would like to see things decided by actual soccer. My proposal: if a final (or other knockout game in a tournament) ends level then extra time should be played without the offside law.Steve
Shootouts should stay. They’re dramatic, easily understood and rely on a footballing skill; if replays are impossible – and given the modern calendar they are – they’re the least bad option available; an almost elemental test of what the sport is.
You say you want things decided by “actual soccer”, but if you remove offside what is left is not soccer. There’s a reason why offside was one of the initial 12 laws of the game when they
were first drawn up in 1863. It’s fundamental. Without offside, forwards could stand in the opposition’s six-yard box, waiting to try to get a touch from long balls belted into the area. It may be that seeing teams keep a couple of 6ft 8in lumps on the bench then bringing them on in extra-time to whack the ball at would produce something exciting, but it would not be football.
Equally, without offside, teams pressing would have no protection, so what you’d probably end up with would be a ludicrously stretched game with half the players in one box and half in the other. I wrote about this in 2010.
Without offside, football has no structure, no need for passing combinations, no need for dribbling, no need for any of the things that make it great.
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team’s weak link against a Germany side that has had its own struggles of late. Germany unexpectedly controlled the match and they would have won the game by more had Brice Samba not made a flurry of fine saves late on.
At 24, Tchouameni is still young for international football – as is 18-yearold Zaïre-Emery – but the Real Madrid man has made 30 appearances for his country and his positioning should be better. He was tormented by Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala, which had a knock-on effect on his teammates in the centre of the park. Far from being cowed by his first real test in international football, Zaïre-Emery was the most solid of the trio, showing plenty of graft if not the inventiveness that might be expected from him. Rabiot was far worse, though, looking stretched physically and devoid of creativity on the ball – both things that Griezmann would have offered in spades.
Yes, this was just a friendly and Griezmann will be back for the Euros, but the performance did not bode well for a team that has succeeded in recent years despite its midfield rather than because of it. There will be more to come from Zaïre-Emery but, for the moment, France look a little short of options – something Benjamin Pavard tried to refute half-heartedly after the match: “Antoine is very important to us, but we have very good players in this position. At the end of the day, it’s true that he’s a leader and that he’s very important in the squad.” The second half of Pavard’s statement is undoubtedly true, but the jury remains out on the first.
Deschamps has a similar problem in attack. Mbappé regularly plays centrally for his club but he is still used primarily on the flanks for his country, with record scorer Olivier Giroud playing as an orthodox No 9. On this occasion, though, Deschamps started Marcus Thuram in that role. Thuram has been impressive for Inter this season, helping them to the summit of Serie A, and he probably deserved the start ahead of Randal Kolo Muani, but he was largely ineffective and struggled to link with Mbappé and Dembélé on the flanks.
Thuram is a fine player but he does not hold the ball up as well as Giroud, relying more on his pace and craft, as well as service from midfield. Again, the talent is there, but the player’s lack of adaptability stymied the team. Deschamps’ options up front are many but too similar: fast attackers who can stretch defences at will but often lack end product. Ousmane Dembélé is a joy to watch when playing well but the team looks disjointed without a true focal point – something that none of Thuram, Randal Kolo Muani, Kingsley Coman (when fit) or Moussa Diaby can offer.
Giroud (who came off the bench) and Griezmann will both be back in the summer and France probably remain narrow favourites to win the tournament. But, as they prepare to ride into the sunset, it remains to be seen how France replace their sublime qualities.
Talking points
• Brice Samba was impressive in goal against Germany. He was probably France’s best performer and continues to make his battle with Mike Maignan for the No 1 jersey an intriguing one. He made four saves and was not at fault for the goals he did concede. With Lens finding form in the league as well, Samba could be as vital for his country this summer as he has been for his club in recent years.
• Finally, is there a chance Mbappé doesn’t go to Real Madrid this summer? The Parisian has been adamant that he wants to play for France in the Olympics this summer, but the Spanish club say they will not release players for the tournament. The player has been circumspect on the matter, but one has to wonder whether this will affect his move.
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