Alonso returns to Anfield Road, Swiss derby in Bologna – rts.ch

Alonso didn’t want to talk about his emotional return to Liverpool on Friday. He still had time to do it just before the match, he said. But as curiosity was already greater than expected a few days before, the Basque finally spoke.

At least a little. “Playing the Champions League at Anfield, it’s difficult to do better”said Alonso. However, before Tuesday night’s match, he could have told a lot more about his time with the Reds.

For example, the unique atmosphere of the legendary Anfield Road enclosure, where the former midfield boss played so often between 2004 and 2009, or the Champions League final, perhaps the most beautiful of history, in which he beat AC Milan in 2005 after being 3-0 down and scored an important goal himself.

Already on Liverpool’s list

So there’s more than enough material for the images that will likely flash through Alonso’s mind for his return to Liverpool. He could even have returned earlier, because if consistent media reports are to be believed, he was at the top of the list of coaches wanted by Liverpool this summer.

At the time, LFC was looking for a successor to Jürgen Klopp, and Alonso’s name naturally stood out. But the Spaniard decided to stay with the Werkself. And Alonso could not have done much better than the Dutchman Arne Slot: after 10 days of the Premier League, Liverpool are at the top of the standings and are the only team, with Aston Villa, to have won their 3 matches in C1.

“I know what it’s like to play there”also said Granit ).

“It’s the Champions League, one night in Liverpool – you have to enjoy it first.” For almost every player on the Leverkusen team, hearing the fans chant “You’ll never walk alone” in a packed stadium will be something special. But it will also be decisive for Xhaka and his teammates not to be blinded by this special atmosphere.

ats/alt