Ruben Amorim now appears to be the frontrunner to be named as Liverpool’s next manager, although another young coach who’s impressing on the continent has been talked up as a plausible successor to Jurgen Klopp.
Behind the Milan duo and Juventus, the fourth Champions League place in Serie A is currently being occupied by Bologna, who’ve far exceeded expectations this season under Thiago Motta.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Ben Jacobs has suggested that the 41-year-old fits the profile of managerial candidate that Anfield chiefs like, in terms of getting results which belie a comparatively modest budget.
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The journalist said: “Thiago Motta is doing a brilliant job at Bologna, and Liverpool love candidates that have overperformed based upon the resource available to them, so he cannot be discounted at this point, either. When we say discounted, we’re talking about who is going to get to the final shortlist and who isn’t.
“That’s what I mean about Liverpool – it’s a step-by-step process. This isn’t just ‘pick a candidate and offering them a job’; this is ‘pick multiple candidates and do interviews’, then offer someone the job.
“We have to understand that it’s a stage-by-stage process. Liverpool are not trying to jump ahead and pre-predict who they want to give it to, because that’s rushing the process and they don’t feel that they need to do that.”
Bologna haven’t played in any European competition since the now-defunct Intertoto Cup in 2002, so for them to be on course for a Champions League place at this stage of the season is an enormous testament to Motta’s work.
A return of just 25 goals conceded in 31 Serie A games this term speaks to their defensive discipline, but it’d be unfair to simply label him as a pragmatic, safety-first coach.
As per The Coaches’ Voice, he gives his full-backs licence to attack the spaces ahead of them in his system, which has been dubbed a ‘2-7-2’ in terms of being concentrated through the middle of the pitch vertically, while his side are also known for a possession-based approach and swift counterpressing.
Whether the Liverpool hierarchy would view Motta as a viable candidate to replace Klopp is unclear – they mightn’t have to if, as reported by sources from Portugal, they hope to complete an agreement with Amorim on a potential contract ‘next week’.
However, should any pursuit of the Sporting Lisbon boss hit a dead end, his Bologna counterpart may be an interesting alternative to consider.