Klopp, Xavi and the burden of the managerial love affair | Jonathan Wilson

JUrgen Klopp leaves Liverpool. Xavi leaves Barcelona. Thomas Tuchel may be under pressure at Bayern Munich. Extremely speculative stories in Spain about Mikel Arteta considering his future at Arsenal. There are decades where nothing happens, and weeks where decades happen: this summer could see a truly spectacular merry-go-round of managers with Roberto De Zerbi, Thiago Motta, Unai Emery, Hansi Flick and Rúben Amorim all in the mix.

Klopp and Xavi’s situations are different, even though they have both won one league title. Klopp will have been in office for almost nine years when he leaves, during which time he has transformed Liverpool into one of the best sides in Europe. For him, that title tally of one is misleading as it does not reflect the level of opposition he has faced, and the near impossibility of taking on Manchester City under Pep Guardiola. With lesser financial resources he has been consistently competitive and that in itself is enough to make him one of the three greatest managers in the club’s history.

Xavi will only have been at Barcelona for three years. It’s not entirely fair to say that his one league title reflects what happens when you’re manager of one of Spain’s big two while the other is having a down year, and he deserves credit for forging a squad in the midst of the chaos and adversity. last season, but no one will hail him as one of Barcelona’s greats.

But what both show is the toll the job can take, especially on managers who come to truly love the clubs they are in charge of. ‘The feeling of being Barcelona coach is unpleasant and cruel’ Xavi said when he announced his decision. Guardiola also felt this at Barcelona in his fourth season: the eternal pressure, the constant control, the need to constantly keep everything under control, can be tiring.

And yet it is a medicine. It is certainly not for financial reasons that so many managers find it so difficult to sit back and let the game continue without them. There’s a reason why Roy Hodgson is still in charge of the Premier League at the age of 76, why Dean Smith moved to the Norwich job just days after being sacked by Aston Villa, why Bill Shankly came to regret his decision to leave Anfield in 1974.

There is no danger that Klopp will suddenly be forgotten during his year off. He will still be in high demand no matter how long he stays out of the game. But suppose Germany had a terrible Euro on home soil this summer and Julian Nagelsmann leaves: could Klopp really resist a call-up from the DFB if ​​it came in July?

Xavi’s case is different. What Klopp has done means he will be at the top of any club’s shortlist, but the former midfielder will have a much tougher time. Perhaps a spectacular victory over a fading Napoli in the last 16 of the Champions League next month will redeem him, but his record in Europe is poor and he too often seems shocked that other teams have the audacity to defend against are Barça. How dare they prevent his team from playing the game the right way? It’s an attitude that hints at a broader doubt: that he may be a cargo-cult coach, capable of repeating the dictums of Guardiola’s philosophy without fully understanding how to insert or adapt them.

Barcelona has always been a special club when it comes to appointments, where philosophy is at least as important as performance. That’s why they gave the job to Frank Rijkaard in 2003 when, after taking Sparta Rotterdam to the first relegation in their history, he was running a lingerie company and was considering an offer from the club.
Netherlands Antilles. That’s why they appointed Guardiola in charge of their B team after one season and why they gave the job to Xavi when his only managerial experience was in Qatar. And that’s why the link with Arteta, however unproven, feels plausible. The Arsenal manager is a graduate of La Masia, Barcelona’s famous academy, and served his apprenticeship under Guardiola. The question is why Arteta would want the job now when Arsenal are on the rise, while Barcelona are in such financial chaos and have such an unbalanced squad.

For Liverpool, Xabi Alonso has emerged as an early frontrunner, which, considering Bayer Leverkusen are two points clear at the top of the Bundesliga and still unbeaten, is understandable enough. This is his second season as a senior coach, but he has experience with Real Madrid’s youth team and Real Sociedad’s reserves. The temptation may be great for Alonso to make a move to Bayern if Tuchel leaves at the end of the season – which he almost certainly would if they fail to win the league – and Barcelona could be Real Madrid -past may be overlooked, but the appeal of a return to Liverpool would be strong.

The problem is that love comes with extra pressure.