Thiago Alcântara joined Liverpool for a specific reason in 2020 but after two years on Merseyside, Jürgen Klopp has now changed his tactical blueprint at Anfield.
Liverpool was on top of the world in the summer of 2020. In the previous season, Jürgen Klopp’s men had secured the Premier League title for the first time in 30 years, and in the season before that, the Reds had won the Champions League after beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in Madrid.
The German coach had an elite squad full of players who were primed to deliver at the highest level, with only finishing touches having to be added in the market by sporting director Michael Edwards. Klopp had everything except for a conductor in his midfield department, which is why Thiago Alcântara was signed from Bayern Munich
Aged 29 at the time, the Spanish international was already established as a genuine star, having won two Champions League titles, four La Liga titles and seven Bundesliga titles across his illustrious career. In many ways, he was signed to become the icing on the cake that Klopp had baked
Thiago looked like a perfect tactical fit on Merseyside. He was ideally suited to upgrading the left side of Liverpool’s midfield trio, taking the place of Gini Wijnaldum, whose contract at Anfield expired in 2021. The Italian-born conductor arrived as a true controller who would speed up and slow down Klopp’s game according to his own expert judgement.
Thiago proved to have injury problems on English shores, just as he did in Germany. But whenever he was on the pitch, he dominated his team. “This teams deserves a player like him,” said Pep Lijnders, Klopp’s assistant, shortly after the $26m (£20m/€23m) transfer was agreed.
good team deserves good players, he will add something to our team,” said the Dutchman, via the ECHO. “Because he is so calm and he plays so many creative passes, all of the other players start playing like that. He will not only improve our game but improve all of the other players. There will be different timings, different passes, different dictation of play. We have to stay unpredictable and Thiago gives us unpredictability from the spine of the pitch.
Although his transfer was a relatively short-term move for Edwards to make, it made plenty of sense. Thiago was one of the few players on the continent who was actually capable of improving Liverpool on the field, which is why — despite his age and injury proneness — he was regarded as worthy of the investment.
Thiago was the cherry on top but now, aged 32, it remains to be seen what lies ahead for him. The Spaniard has one year left on his Reds contract, but he can no longer act as the ultimate finishing touch because Liverpool has changed quite considerably since he first arrived three years ago.
Klopp is in the process of constructing his next great team. Key players such as Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané have left the club, with the 56-year-old also toying with the prospect of converting Trent Alexander-Arnold into a full-time midfielder next season given his rapid evolution over the past three months.
At the beginning of April, Klopp ditched his customary 4-3-3 in possession and adopted a new-look 3-2-5 shape in attack, with Alexander-Arnold instructed to drift into the middle of the park whenever possession was under control. Liverpool remains unbeaten in 10 matches using the 3-2-5, but Thiago doesn’t have a guaranteed place in the new arrangement.
