Thiago to Liverpool: A champagne footballer capable of orchestrating control and chaos

Thursday, September 17, 2020. Servers crash. Rumours take on the tinge of all-but-confirmed reports. The internet breaks. “Announce Thiago” is in the replies of every journalist dealing in Liverpool transfer news. Do Jurgen Klopp's Reds finally have their man? 

Liverpool transfer news: Thiago to Liverpool all but confirmed 

Weeks before that Champions League quarterfinal against Barcelona, Bayern Munich's Thiago Alcantara informed the powers that be in Munich that he plans to take on a new challenge. Reports coming out of Germany at the time indicated that Thiago had his heart set on a move to Liverpool and nowhere else. The Spaniard was enchanted by Liverpool's style of football under Jurgen Klopp and believed a move to the Premier League champions was the move for him. This, from a man who had just won the Bundesliga for the seventh time in succession and would go on to win the Champions League playing a style of football similar to the one Jurgen Klopp has brought to Merseyside. 

On September 17, Liverpool had an offer of £20m guaranteed plus £5m in bonuses accepted by Bayern. Thiago is set to become a Liverpool player. For the first time in decades, a man with a career so decorated has vocally chosen to move to Liverpool. 

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Pessimism reigned supreme in fans in the weeks that built up to the 2020-21 Premier League campaign. The Reds, with only one senior signing in the form of Kostas Tsimikas, were set to embark on their title defence without a big-name addition to their squad. Fans rued the fact that the club didn't seem interested in capitalising on being Premier League champions; strengthening from a position of power. No major signings were made since that summer in 2018 which welcomed Fabinho, Xherdan Shaqiri, Alisson and Naby Keita to Anfield. 

A thrilling 4-3 win over Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds did little to allay those fears and Liverpool fans still rested on a knife's edge. "News on Thiago?", "Any updates on Thiago?" and "ANNOUNCE THIAGO" were just some of the template replies journalists received on articles all things Liverpool. A small section of Liverpool fans was resigned to the fact that, come the end of the summer, Thiago would not be a Liverpool player. 

Yet, as journalists invested in Liverpool transfer news all at once announced that the club had had a bid accepted for the Spanish maestro, that same section of fans sprung to life. Thanking the heavens and Michael Edwards in particular, Reds fans took to Twitter to break the internet. Soon, the only replies under James Pearce, Paul Joyce and Melissa Reddy's tweets were singular in tone: Announce Thiago. 

Liverpool transfer news: Thiago transfer a coup for Jurgen Klopp

The Thiago transfer stands out for two reasons in particular: 

1. Thiago himself was adamant Liverpool would be his destination
2. Liverpool played the waiting game and ended up paying a mere £20m guaranteed plus £5m in add-ons

An elite talent, Thiago is a player who has decided that, despite conquering Europe the previous season, he would aim to do the same with the very team Bayern Munich dethroned to become champions of Europe. His arrival at Anfield brings a smorgasbord of possibilities, both in midfield and overall tactical setup for Klopp. This is, after all, a midfield maestro forged in the fires of Barcelona's famed La Masia. 

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Thiago to Liverpool: What Bayern's midfield supremo brings to Liverpool's industrious midfield

Born in Italy, nurtured in Brazil, developed in Spain and flourishing in Germany, Thiago has seen the world and then some. Operating in a double pivot alongside Leon Goretzka at the base of Bayern's midfield, Thiago quietly pulled the strings as Bayern utterly demolished a Barcelona squad begging to be put of its misery. Playing the role of puppet master, Thiago stuck into tackles, recycled possession and launched wave after wave of attacks that picked Barcelona apart. In raw numbers, Thiago's efforts didn't stand out. A single tackle, no interceptions, zero shots on target and the same number of assists and chances created.

Yet, the Spaniard attempted 65 medium or long passes that night and didn't misplace a single one until after the hour-mark. A metronome that kept Bayern ticking, Thiago scripted Barcelona's very public demise on a night that would go down in Champions League history. 

What he brings to Liverpool is all of that and more. In Thiago, Jurgen Klopp's Reds will have a midfielder of the elite mould capable of unlocking teams that sit back and defend in numbers. Premier League sides have often resorted to shutting out Liverpool's full-backs, leaving the onus on the midfield to come up with the goods. This is precisely where Thiago comes in. 

When ideas are few and far between, Thiago will be the one tasked with orchestrating the answer to the low block. His skillset, combined with the industry of the likes of Henderson, Milner and Wijnaldum, means Liverpool have options across the board for nearly every kind of opponent. Add Fabinho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Curtis Jones to the mix and Liverpool have a squad that can finally compete on multiple fronts. An in-form Naby Keita just adds to that gloss.

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Thiago to Liverpool: The control and chaos of a champagne footballer  

Boil Thiago Alcantara's career down to a sticky liquor and it houses these ingredients - passes, nifty turns, the occasional stunner, control and chaos. Thiago is, in every sense of the word, an orchestrator. Few players in the world have the ability to create symphonies as effortlessly as the Spaniard. To watch Thiago play is to watch a conductor wave his baton with grace and raise it just in time to strike at the heart of an audience. There is control, then a flash of chaos.

Liverpool's triptych midfield will have a touch of silk to it this season. The man at the heart of it will be a champagne footballer of a dying breed, one who will set out to mellow Jurgen Klopp's heavy metal with some smooth jazz. Thiago, anyone? 

Image Courtesy: Thiago Alcantara Twitter