Former Liverpool winger Steve McManaman has warned his former club that the biggest challenge their incoming manager will face will be emulating Jurgen Klopp’s larger-than-life character.
Sporting Lisbon head coach Ruben Amorim has emerged as a standout candidate to replace Klopp in recent weeks and is now believed to be the Reds’ No.1 target.
Amorim, 39 has performed wonderfully well in Lisbon and is on course to win a second Portuguese title with Sporting. But while McManaman is impressed with Amorim’s credentials, he’s concerned that Klopp’s personality and charisma make him an almost impossible act to follow.
McManaman, who was talking to mark the launch of Panini’s Official England Sticker Collection, said of Amorim:
“He’s got a very good reputation in Portugal. He delivered the title to Sporting and they’re fighting for it again this year. Sporting is a huge club, but Liverpool are a different level.
“We all know it’s going to be a difficult job for whoever comes in but the number-crunchers, the data specialists, they’ll be doing their homework behind the scenes.”
“Liverpool are in a really great place. I think practically everybody other than Trent [Alexander-Arnold] and Virgil [van Dijk] are locked down.
“I don’t necessarily think the hard part will be the team; that’s going to be around for a while. It’s everything else: [replacing] the charisma of Jurgen, his sense of humour, how he got the people of Liverpool, that’s going to be the hard job.”
“I know Ruben speaks very good English, which is a great help straight away. But everything else, the whole package to emulate Jurgen, is very difficult for anyone I think.”
Liverpool have already started preparing for life after Klopp by bringing Michael Edwards back to the club. The former sporting director played an influential in the success that the club enjoyed during Klopp’s tenure and he has now been given a wider remit in his new role as Fenway Sport Group’s chief executive of football.
McManaman feels that the appointment of Edwards and FSG’s vision, which includes aspirations to build a multi-club ownership model, will allow them to sustain the success Klopp has brought.
Speaking about FSG’s vision, he added: “That’s important because as we all know, it’s all about how the club move forward. Mikel Arteta will eventually leave Arsenal, Pep will eventually leave City. These clubs will know it way in advance and then it’s all about the process of bringing that new manager in.
“I think the fact that Liverpool have brought Michael [Edwards] back is great. They’re talking about buying other football teams as well and having a football model type. So it’s very exciting times, even if it will be a difficult process.”
