Fernando Torres has praised Xabi Alonso, his former teammate, as one of the world's top managers. This comes as speculation continues about who will take over as Liverpool manager.
Jürgen Klopp has confirmed he will leave his role as manager in the summer. Many believe that Alonso could be his replacement, given his impressive work at Bayer Leverkusen.
The German team is currently unbeaten and leading the Bundesliga by 10 points. They're also in the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal and the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
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Torres and Alonso played together at Liverpool for two seasons. They were also part of the Spanish team that won the 2010 World Cup and the European Championships in 2008 and 2012.
Regardless of whether Alonso takes over from Klopp, Torres believes his friend will continue to succeed in his managerial career.
"I think he's doing great, fantastic player and he is already a fantastic manager," he said. "He's a really nice guy, I've got a nice friendship with him and I hope for him all the best.
"We have seen in the Sociedad academy he is doing really good things, now you can see he has become one of the best managers in the world. He's having a fantastic season, not losing a single game and the future is bright for him."
Torres, who now manages Atletico Madrid's Under-19 team since 2021, knows he has a lot to learn before getting to the same level as Alonso. When asked about possibly managing Liverpool one day, he shared: "This is a big thing, I am just starting, learning and understanding how different it is to be a coach — it's a completely different thing."
"Starting from zero, doing the right step — one at a time — I'm trying to be a coach, let's see if I can do it. But coaching for Liverpool is a different thing, step-by-step."
Liverpool.com says: Hopefully Torres can follow in Alonso's footsteps and become a top manager himself. How great would it be to see the pair coming up against each other at Anfield in the future?
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can read the original story in the Liverpool ECHO by clicking here.
