Xabi Alonso is off to a great start as head coach of Bayer Leverkusen. The former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich star was named as the boss of the German club on Wednesday. In his first game with the team, Leverkusen crushed Schalke 4-0.
Going into Saturday, Leverkusen only picked up one win from their eight Bundesliga games. Leverkusen have also had one of the leakiest defenses in the German league. The club had allowed 16 Bundesliga goals at the time of Alonso’s appointment. Former head coach Gerardo Seoane was sacked following his team’s 2-0 loss to Porto in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Xabi Alonso triumphs at Bayer
Alonso previously spent the last three seasons in charge of Real Sociedad’s B team. The former Spanish international led the team to promotion to the Second Division for the 2021/22 campaign. It was the club’s first season in Spain’s second division since 1961-62.
The legend was also previously linked with Borussia Monchengladbach’s job in 2021. However, he decided to remain in Society B for his Second Division season.
However, the team did not stay in the league for long. Alonso’s team was relegated after just one year in the division. Shortly after the discharge from Sociedad B, the club announced that their manager would not return for the current campaign.
Alonso’s position at Leverkusen is his first job as a senior head coach. Before the great victory, the coach stated that he wanted to return the winning mentality to the team.
“We want to play modern football,” Alonso said. “That means: intensity with and without the ball, being more active than passive and with a strong mentality.”
“The team has to know how we want to play. Dominant, intensive, controlled. We have to recover the winning mentality, and that from the kick-off to the final whistle”.
Leverkusen certainly showcased this type of play at the weekend. Alonso’s next match will be a Champions League match at home against Porto on Wednesday.
Photo Credit: IMAGO/Team 2
