Xabi Alonso: From football legend to world-class coach

A great player does not mean he will become a good coach, but with Xabi Alonso it is different.

Xabi Alonso had a memorable 2023-2024 season with Leverkusen - Photo: REUTERS

There are many typical examples such as the late legend Maradona, former player Alan Shearer or Neville, all of whom were genius players, but had difficulties on the coaching bench.

Famous football career

However, Real Madrid are perhaps an exception, as they already have a player and coach in the all-rounder Zinedine Zidane. Most recently, Xabi Alonso has taken over the reins at Los Blancos. Let's see if Xabi can do as well as he did as a player as he did as a Real Madrid coach.

Xabi Alonso has long been remembered by fans as a world- class midfielder. He has a sharp tactical vision and excellent passing ability. The highlight of Alonso's extremely illustrious career is the two prestigious Champion League titles in the colors of Liverpool and Real Madrid.

He and Spain won Euro 2008 and 2012 twice, and the 2010 World Cup in between. Xabi Alonso has reached almost every height a player can dream of.

He has played for many famous clubs such as Real Madrid, Liverpool and Bayern Munich.

Xabi Alonso has played and learned under great coaches from many different schools such as Rafael Benítez, José Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola. That is also the reason why the style of play that Xabi Alonso applies to Leverkusen is a mixture of many football philosophies.

Xabi Alonso faces many challenges against a tired Real Madrid - Photo: REUTERS

The most sought-after coach in Europe

After retiring, Alonso began his coaching career with Real Madrid's youth team before returning to lead the Real Sociedad B reserve team. The opportunity came to the Spanish coach in October 2022, when he was appointed head coach of Bayer Leverkusen.

At that time, the German team was struggling at the bottom of the Bundesliga. Under Alonso's leadership, Leverkusen had a spectacular revival, finishing the season in 6th place and qualifying for the Europa League.

However, the 2023-2024 season after that, the whole world witnessed the rise of Bayer Leverkusen under Xabi Alonso. Leverkusen played with a 3-4-2-1 formation on paper, but the variation was 4-2-3-1.

When deploying the ball, they played with a winger, Frimpong, moving up high, along with flexible interchanges of players: Florian Wirtz, Palacios, Hoffman, bringing many surprises to opponents Dortmund, Leipzig or even Bayern Munich.

Alonso's team plays a disciplined style of play, but is no less attractive with its attractive attacking style and never-give-up spirit. Many times, in the 2023-2024 season, Leverkusen escaped with goals in injury time.

34 unbeaten matches in the Bundesliga have brought the names of Alonso and the BayArena players into German history with an unprecedented achievement.

Xabi Alonso ended Bayer Leverkusen's 120-year Bundesliga drought and also won the DFB-Pokal, completing an impressive double.

With his resounding success with Bayer Leverkusen, Xabi Alonso has become one of the most sought-after coaches in Europe. Real Madrid, Liverpool, Bayern Munich all dreamed of having him. However, Alonso has chosen to continue with Leverkusen in the 2024-2025 season.

Alonso could not defend the Bundesliga championship cup for Leverkusen this season due to the return of Bayern Munich, along with the signs of aging of pillars such as Xhaka, Hoffmann. However, Leverkusen still kept a place in the Champion League with the 2nd position.

Saying goodbye to Leverkusen to join his old home Real Madrid, Xabi Alonso still has a lot of work to do against a team that is somewhat dilapidated. Can Xabi Alonso follow in Zidane's footsteps? Let's wait and see!

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/xabi-alonso-tu-huyen-thoai-san-co-den-hlv-hang-dau-the-gioi-20250513084652593.htm