An ex-Liverpool player from Rafael Benitez’s time in charge of the club has now been talked up as a viable candidate to become a future manager of the Reds.
Many of the standout names from the Spaniards’ reign at Anfield between 2004 and 2010 have gone on to forge coaching careers of their own – Xabi Alonso is the most prominent of those, with Steven Gerrard, Robbie Keane, Javier Mascherano and Alvaro Arbeloa also moving into careers in the dugout in more recent times.
Another former Red from that era has now been earmarked for a potential future return to Merseyside in a managerial role.
Fernando Torres is currently in charge of Atletico Madrid’s B team, who play in the Spanish third tier, and his former Spain teammate Fernando Llorente can envisage him becoming Liverpool manager further down the line.
The ex-Tottenham Hotspur striker told Hajper (via Daily Express): “Fernando Torres as Liverpool manager one day? Definitely. He’s taken a different path to Cesc Fabregas. He has been patient and has preferred to start little by little with the youth team, gaining experience.
“I think Fernando will become a great coach because he had an incredible career, knows a lot about football and has surely been preparing for the right moment to make the jump.”
Want more Empire of the Kop coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust
Torres has been enjoying a strong season with Atletico’s B team (known as Madrileño), who currently sit third in the league table and are likely to be in the play-offs for potential promotion to the Spanish second tier.
His overall record with them (see below, from Transfermarkt) seems modest, although the statistics would suggest that his side are quite difficult to beat and defensively resolute.
An infamous touchline spat with former Liverpool teammate Arbeloa in a youth match three years ago shows that ‘El Nino’ also has a fiery side to him as a coach which betrays the finesse he exhibited on the pitch as a player in his time at Anfield.
Could we see Torres coming back to L4 as manager one day? It’d make for a fantastic story, but realistically it isn’t likely to happen any time soon, with the 42-year-old yet to manage at a level higher than the Spanish third tier and having more of the ladder to climb before he becomes a viable candidate.
His ex-LFC teammate Alonso continues to be touted as a potential successor to Arne Slot, with our former midfielder having the experience of managing Bayer Leverkusen (where he won a domestic double) and Real Madrid (where he lasted just seven months) under his belt.
Might his fellow countryman go on to have an equally distinguished coaching career? It’ll be fascinating to witness.
Welcome to our Live Comments section, where new comments will appear automatically
Alonso is the best candidate today. Stop taking Liverpool fans for a ride FSG. Do the right thing.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Notify me of follow-up comments by email.
Notify me of new posts by email.
