Xabi Alonso is the new coach of Bayer Leverkusen. The former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich player, among others, returns to the bench after a few months without a team to undertake the first major challenge of his short career as a coach, which until now was only three seasons in charge of the subsidiary of the Real Sociedad, between 2019 and 2022.
“I know Leverkusen from my time in Germany. They are an excellent club. Bayer have always had great players and I see a lot of quality in the current squad as well. In my discussions with the club, it quickly became clear that despite the difficult situation, Ambitious goals are still being pursued. I am very enthusiastic about this task and I am sure that we will be up to the task”, said the player from Toulouse, who replaces the dismissed Gerardo Seoane.
The former midfielder, whose resume as a footballer highlights two Champions Leagues and four leagues, in addition to a World Cup and two European Championships with Spain, signs with the Germans until June 30, 2024. Alonso takes the ‘aspirin’ team at a bad time , eliminated at the first change of the Cup, penultimate in the Bundesliga and a day after complicating life in the Champions League, third in his group after losing to Porto away from home (2-0).
After hanging up his boots at the end of the 2016-17 season, after closing a three-year stage at Bayern, Alonso began his training as a coach in the lower categories of Real Madrid, a team in which he played as a player between 2009 and 2014 After a year training the white children’s team, he returned to the club where he grew up, Real Sociedad, to take the reins of Sanse from the 2019 season.
The Gipuzkoan coach promoted the txuri urdin subsidiary to the Second Division in his second season, something that had not happened for 60 years, but he was unable to keep the San Sebastian team in the silver category in his third and final year, in 2021-22. Despite the sad outcome, partly logical due to Sanse’s little experience in a very tough Second, Alonso left a good memory.
Those good feelings that he transmitted in his first experience as a coach opened the doors for him last summer to teams with more category. He dreamed of training several teams, including Real Madrid, but finally decided to step away from the bench while waiting for an offer according to his ambition and his knowledge, which has finally been that of Bayer Leverkusen.
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