Leverkusen’s success coach
Alonso didn’t think a career was possible for a long time
Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso can win the treble with his team. photo
© Federico Gambarini/dpa
He was one of the most successful professionals of this millennium, and now Xabi Alonso is shining as a coach. For a long time he didn’t believe that he could assert himself in football.
He “honestly didn’t think a professional career was possible for a long time, which is why it was never my only goal in life,” the coach of the designated German champions Bayer Leverkusen once told the club magazine “Werkself”: “I studied and played on the side Let’s see how far I can make it in football.”
He even went to university “until I moved to Liverpool,” Alonso continued. That was in 2004, when he was already 22. “There was only one course missing to get a degree in economics,” he said: “Without the change, I would probably have taken the same path as my friends: finish my studies, myself “I wanted to look for a job in business. That was the clear plan in case I wasn’t successful in football, and that was completely okay with me.”
At first skeptical, then mega-successful
Then something happened with football. Alonso became world champion once, European champion twice, Champions League winner twice and won 13 other titles. The midfielder, who was as gallant as he was tough as nails when necessary, became one of the most successful professionals of this millennium. And now, at 42, he is working on a coaching career that is perhaps no less successful.
With Leverkusen he can secure the first championship title in the club’s history this weekend and end FC Bayern’s eleven-year championship streak. As a finalist in the DFB Cup and quarter-finalist in the Europa League, the treble is even possible. To ensure that it stays that way, Alonso wants to take the next step towards the final in Dublin with his team in the first leg against West Ham United on Thursday (9 p.m./RTL). First beat the English, then celebrate the championship on Sunday: This is what the perfect week for Bayer could look like.
Germany has long been chosen as the first destination
He’s had it in his mind for a long time that he really wants to start his coaching career in Germany. Even before he moved to Munich as a player in 2014, Alonso had “typically German characteristics,” he said. He really liked the organization and analytical approach on site. “Now, in the second stage of my career, my responsibilities have become even greater and these things have become even more important,” he said. That’s why he “always remembered that this league is the right place for me to take the next step in my coaching career after my time in San Sebastián.”
He canceled Mönchengladbach in 2021 because he didn’t feel ready yet. In October 2022, Leverkusen came knocking. Alonso agreed and started with Bayer. In the spring he was the preferred candidate at FC Bayern and Liverpool FC. Alonso certainly had some thoughts; he has close ties to both former clubs. But then he decided: his mission in Leverkusen is not over, he will stay at least another year. The offers will come back, he can be quite sure of that. And many believe that his chosen next step in a year or two is to succeed Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid.
The club has developed in all areas
Alonso’s influence in Leverkusen cannot just be measured in titles. The euphoria surrounding the club is huge, the fan culture has developed, and the number of members has exploded. Even before the season, players like Granit Xhaka, Alejandro Grimaldo and Jonas Hofmann came because of him. His stay favors that of Florian Wirtz, and Bayer will also have chances with unusually prominent names when they moderately strengthen their squad in the summer. As in the best times of Pep Guardiola, one of Alonso’s many teachers, many want to work with him and under him. This season alone he has helped eight Leverkusen professionals make their debuts for their national teams.
His themes are conveyed so well because he does it meticulously but without doggedness, with the aura of a man of the world and with the necessary portion of looseness. In this way he has formed a team that follows him unconditionally. “Xabi knows what a dressing room needs. The players listen to him,” said club boss Fernando Carro. “He knows exactly how to deal with the players, when to criticize, when to praise,” explained Xhaka. Despite all the spectacular things, the special thing is that Alonso makes the difficult things easy. Hofmann praised his coach above all for “many simple but effective things. And that’s what counts in football.”
The fact is: Alonso didn’t have to build up a second mainstay parallel to his coaching career. Because he is already one of the best in Europe.