Ancelotti or Klopp to Replace Rodgers at Liverpool (Part I)

After a shameful enclosure of an unsuccessful season Brendan Rodger’s Liverpool future is in doubt.

Though Rodgers said before Liverpool’s last game of the campaign against Stoke City that he was 150% sure about staying at the club, after the 6-1 defeat in the Britannia Stadium the “Rodgers out!” choir between fans was louder than ever. The American owners of the Merseyside club though suggested that they stick with the Northern Irishman. However, gambling news reported that club officials talked to Carlo Ancelotti, who is leaving Real Madrid, while Jurgen Klopp, who exits Borussia Dortmund is also strongly linked with a move to Liverpool.

Rodgers to go then?

Brendan Rodgers took over Liverpool three years ago after the club parted ways with club legend Kenny Dalglish after the Scotsman failed to lead back Liverpool to the Champions League. Rodgers, a young, promising and ambitious manager brought new ideas to Anfield and transformed the way the team played. He introduced the Ajax-Barcelona school of possession football, and after a struggling year and a not-so-impressive seventh placed finish, the side started to click for the 2013-14 Premier League season, especially for its second half.

• Rodgers failed to deliver a trophy
• Ancelotti appreciates Liverpool
• The Italian could be a short to middle term solution

Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge formed the best attacking duo in Europe and Liverpool were the hottest team around in the spring of the 2014. At the end of the campaign however, with Steven Gerrard remarkably slipping against Chelsea, they failed to win the Premier League and Luis Suarez left for Barcelona in exchange of some cash around GBP 75 million, according to mobile betting news. Liverpool spent a record fee of GBP 117 million last summer to improve the squad and somehow fill Suarez’s place, but six of the seven new players brought in disappointed the supporters, with Emre Can being the only one having a decent year.

After exiting from the Champions League in the group stages, halfway through the season, it looked like Rodgers found his new system and the players fitting into that. Liverpool were playing impressive football once again, however things fell apart in the spring and the Reds have missed out on European football and failed to capture a trophy once again. After all this, even with thinking about to give more time for Rodgers, the leaders of Fenway Sports Group, the company that owns Liverpool Football Club, should at least consider hiring one of the best managers who is walking around without a team.

Ancelotti would be perfect for Liverpool

Though Ancelotti claimed that he will take a year off after finishing his work at Real Madrid, a job offer at Liverpool would be really hard to turn down for the Italian. He missed the opportunity to play against the Reds on the biggest stage in club football as a player, struggling with a knee injury in 1984, when Liverpool won the European Cup against AS Roma on penalties, but he had a shot face them as a manager.

Only to go down on penalties once again after Liverpool have fought back from 3-0 down at half time against AC Milan in 2005, in arguably the best Champions League final ever. Then in 2007, as many, who bet on sports in the EU remember, still managing AC Milan, he finally defeated the famous opponent. Though the English club is far from its best, Ancelotti considers the managerial position at Liverpool amongst the most valuable jobs in football.

Ancelotti delivered la Decima, the tenth European Cup/Champions League trophy for Real Madrid last year, but he was fired nevertheless recently after ending his second season without any trophies. He worked in England before, winning the Premier League and the FA Cup in his first season at Chelsea, and he is the only manager outside Bob Paisley who lifted the Champions League trophy three times. He is clearly one of the best managers in the game, and more than qualified for the task of leading back Liverpool to the elite. With him becoming available in a time when Rodger’s position is under threat, it would be a wonderful opportunity for Liverpool to acquire his services.

The only point against him is that he spent more than three years at a club only once in his managerial career, however that was at AC Milan, where he has built one of the strongest teams in the world. Considering this and noting that the American owners intend to plan for long, the 55-year-old Italian might be not the best solution for the next ten years indeed. However, he can be a perfect one, if they chose to plan for a period of three to five years.