Xabi Alonso has brushed off the emotions of managing against Liverpool at Anfield, facing his former club for the first time since leaving for Real Madrid in 2009.
Alonso takes his Bayer Leverkusen side to Anfield for Champions League matchday four, hoping to become the first team to take points off Arne Slot's Reds in the competition this season.
The Spaniard never played against Liverpool for Madrid, having moved on to Bayern Munich by the time the clubs were drawn in the same Champions League group in 2014/15. So heading back to Anfield, now as a coach, is a moment that has been more than 15 years in the making.
"We will see, I will tell you after the game how I feel," Alonso said ahead of the game when asked about the possibility of Liverpool fans singing his name on the night.
"There will be a moment for everything, but the main thing is not me. It's the players, how we deal with the emotions you have in this stadium."
Alonso, having delivered Leverkusen's first ever Bundesliga title, had been the favourite to replace Jurgen Klopp at the end of last season. But he opted to stay in Germany, with Arne Slot getting the gig soon afterwards the Dutchman has made a flying start.
"Let's talk about the great players on both sides, that is what is in my head," Alonso said.
"For us it is a big challenge to come here. Liverpool at the moment is one of the best, if not the best, in Europe. It's a good squad, good coach. At Anfield, it's a big challenge. We're looking forward to it, let's see what happens."
Alonso joined Liverpool from Real Sociedad as a player in the summer of 2004 and quickly became an instrumental part of the club's unexpected Champions League triumph that first season. He was then part of the side that ran Manchester United all the way in the 2008/09 Premier League title race, before Real Madrid paid around �30m to take him back to Spain.
Alonso retired from playing with Bayern Munich in 2017, returning to Real Madrid as a youth coach while he worked through his elite coaching qualifications, then landing a job as Real Sociedad B head coach in 2019. Three years later, he was appointed by a struggling Leverkusen.
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