Liverpool must rewrite succession script

breaking Bayern Munich’s stranglehold on the Bundesliga.

Liverpool’s next appointment will not be, and was never going to be, based on emotional ties. They can argue with some justification that the stirring of the soul whenever Alonso’s name was referenced was a strictly external exercise.

Nevertheless, at a club like Liverpool – especially in the immediate aftermath of Klopp’s era where high emotion has been a potent weapon – sentimentality should never be demeaned when players and coaches have the skills to match.

The advantage Alonso had over the rest is he would not have had to work to create the same bond with the Kop that Klopp has enjoyed. It was cemented on that miraculous evening in Istanbul 19 years ago when he scored the equaliser in the 3-3 draw with AC Milan in the Champions League final. Alonso would have been required only to say “hola” to guarantee the patience and time required to tweak the team to serve his vision.

Now, the challenge for Edwards and incoming sporting director Richard Hughes is to find someone equally equipped to win hearts and minds. Of the leading candidates still under consideration, Ruben Amorim or Roberto De Zerbi will have to rely on that old-fashioned virtue of first winning lots of football matches and delivering highlevel performances.

Both possess admirable qualities, which is why they are shortlisted. But whereas Alonso’s approval rating stood at 100 per cent, the coming weeks will see the pros and cons of Klopp’s potential successors being the subject of heated debate. Some will find the idea of an explosive Italian on the touchline enticing, especially if he adds a Kop legend steeped in Klopp’s methodology to his coaching staff (a James Milner Anfield return, anyone?). Others will be intrigued by a young Portuguese coach who has demonstrated the Midas touch in a short coaching career.

With Alonso seemingly out of the running, forensic interest in Bayer Leverkusen’s results and performances may now subside for the remaining months of the season. For the moment, all roads in the hunt for Klopp’s successor lead towards Lisbon and Brighton.