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Tag: Xabi Alonso

  • EPL: Xabi Alonso tipped to replace Pep Guardiola at Manchester City

    EPL: Xabi Alonso tipped to replace Pep Guardiola at Manchester City

    The current coach of German side and champions elect, Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso has been tipped as possible replacement for Pep Guardiola in the event that the former Barcelona coach decides to leave the Premier League defending champions after his contract expires in 2025, report on  Diario AS says.

    However, Real Madrid is the only competition for Manchester City in securing Alonso’s services, as the Spanish side is interested in hiring him in the future.

    Alonso has been performing excellently as head coach of Bayer Leverkusen where he recently won the Bundesliga title.

    Recall that Alonso rejected offers from former club Liverpool  to replace outgoing coach Jurgen Klopp but he opted to concentrate on his job at Bayer Leverkusen.

    Alonso has since confirmed that he has plans to continue coaching at his current club despite the interest from other parties.

  • Leverkusen to name street after coach Xabi Alonso

    Leverkusen to name street after coach Xabi Alonso

    The Leverkusen city council is examining the requirements to officially name a street, a square or a road after Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso.

    Alonso led Leverkusen to a historic maiden Bundesliga title and they were crowned champions after a 5-0 win over Werder Bremen on Sunday.

    Ahead of the match, fans placed “Xabi-Alonso-Allee” (Xabi Alonso Avenue) stickers on street signs and the city is now looking into ways of making it official.

    Alonso, sporting director Simon Rolfes and CEO Fernando Carro are also to become honorary citizens of the city, a statement said on Monday.

    Rolfes said he didn’t get much sleep after the club claimed the historic title, but stressed he wasn’t the last one to leave the party.

    “I didn’t sleep for too long,” Rolfes told broadcasters ZDF in their Morgenmagazin morning show.

    He admitted he couldn’t tell how long the party lasted on Sunday evening “because the players kept it going.”

    Leverkusen will receive the Bundesliga trophy only on the final matchday of the season on May 18 and, according to dpa information, the official title party will take place at the BayArena on May 26, a day after the German Cup final.

    “We still have a few goals, the big party will take place after the German Cup final. Yesterday everything was very spontaneous, but these are usually the most beautiful celebrations,” he said.

    Leverkusen are favourites to win the Cup final against Kaiserslautern on May 25.

    “This is something very special, and we will do everything to achieve it,” Rolfes said.

    A treble winning season is also still possible, as they took an important step towards the Europa League semi-finals with a 2-0 win in the first leg of their quarter-finals clash against West Ham.

    Leverkusen are unbeaten in all of their 43 season matches and a record 29 in the Bundesliga in 2023-24.

  • Alonso reacts after winning Bundesliga for Bayer Leverkusen

    Alonso reacts after winning Bundesliga for Bayer Leverkusen

    Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso believes his side’s maiden Bundesliga title is a good thing for German football after Bayern Munich’s run of 11 straight championships came to an end.

    “I am happy for everyone,” the Spaniard, in his first major coaching role, told DAZN after Sunday’s 5-0 win over Werder Bremen.

    The win clinched the title with five games to spare and his side still unbeaten after 29 league games.

    “Perhaps it is healthy for the Bundesliga and German football for other teams to win.

    “We have to enjoy it. It is a super moment. Now it is time to celebrate. Today we have deserved it.”

    Leverkusen can also seal a treble with a Europa League quarter-final second leg at West Ham United on Thursday,  and a German Cup final against second tier Kaiserslautern on May 25.

    But Alonso wants his team to party first.

    “We can focus on West Ham soon but not tonight. Next week is something else. The players are a top, top team, they are top, top lads,” he said.

    “For this season, we still have big goals. It is a very good spot for me to be. This feeling is unbelievable.”

    Alonso, who was soaked with beer amid a massive pitch invasion, has turned down the chance of taking over former clubs Liverpool and Bayern to stay at Leverkusen and he remarked: “It was the right decision.”

    Unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen win maiden Bundesliga

    Bayer Leverkusen’s record-breaking run to their first Bundesliga title was no fluke, with a 16-month plan coming to fruition.

    The team made sure of their first trophy in 31 years with five matches left in the season, snapping Bayern Munich’s 11-year stranglehold on the Bundesliga.

    Sunday’s 5-0 home victory over Werder Bremen further stretched Leverkusen’s Bundesliga record unbeaten run to 29 games – 25 wins and four draws to chalk up 79 points.

    Coach Xabi Alonso took over a struggling Leverkusen side in October 2022 with the team second-bottom after eight Bundesliga games, having their worst start to a season since 1979.

    After a few months it became clear the Spaniard had successfully injected a winning mentality, with his team racing up the table to finish in sixth place.

    But it was during that rise in form in late 2022 when Alonso and the club set the foundations for this season’s success.

    With all eyes on the World Cup in Qatar, club bosses in Leverkusen sat down with Alonso to map out their transfer plans and put them into action early.

    By July 2023 Leverkusen had assembled their full squad and went into pre-season training with no late additions in August or September, as is regularly the case with most teams.

    These transfers included experienced Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka, who added steel in midfield.

    Also Germany international Jonas Hofmann, Alejandro Grimaldo, who provided nine goals and 11 assists as an attacking left-back having joined on a free transfer, and 23-year-old Nigeria striker Victor Boniface.

    Leverkusen took the season by storm from the start, racking up 11 wins in their first 12 league matches,  with Boniface seemingly scoring at will with 10 goals and seven assists until his injury in January while on international duty.

  • Xabi Alonso leaves EPL door open

    Xabi Alonso leaves EPL door open

    Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso hasn’t ruled out coming to England one day.

    The former Liverpool, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich footballer was wanted by the Reds to replace Jurgen Klopp.

    However, he has rejected both Liverpool and Bayern in favor of staying at Leverkusen.

    “You never know, at the moment I have enough on my plate to think about,” he told reporters ahead of a Europa League quarter final first leg with West Ham United.

    “But I’m still young as a coach and for sure it’s a nice one (thought).

    “I speak regularly with some colleagues who coach in the Premier League and they know that each game is really tough to prepare and to play.

    “It’s a very exciting competition with so many great players, coaches, great clubs, stadiums – and West Ham is one of them. We are facing them tomorrow with great respect but with great excitement that we have a great chance to go through and keep going in a great season as well.”

  • Coach Alonso gives update on Boniface’s injury

    Coach Alonso gives update on Boniface’s injury

    Bayer Leverkusen striker, Victor Boniface will be back in the squad for Wednesday’s German Cup semi-final against Fortuna Dusseldorf following a three-month injury absence, coach Xabi Alonso said on Tuesday.

    The 23-year-old Super Eagles forward underwent surgery on an adductor muscle injury in January after being injured while preparing with Nigeria for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote D’Ivoire.

    “We are in a super situation. We have no injuries and a full squad. Boni (Boniface) is also back in the squad,” Alonso told a press conference, with the Bundesliga leaders in the hunt for three trophies this season.

    Asked how long Boniface could play in the game, Alonso said: “Not 90 minutes. 45 maybe not. But maybe 30. He has done a good recovery and has trained well.

    “He has a strong mentality to come back. He can’t wait to get back.”

    Boniface had scored 10 goals and set up another seven in the Bundesliga before his injury.

    Leverkusen are on course for a first ever Bundesliga title with a 13-point lead over second-placed Bayern Munich and seven games remaining.

    They are also through to the Europa League quarter-finals having gone 39 matches unbeaten across all competitions this season.

    “We have to take it one game at a time. That’s the way we have done it until now and we will not change that,” said the Spaniard, who confirmed last week he would be staying at Leverkusen despite interest from major European clubs.

    “We have done a lot but have won nothing so far. We still have a lot of work to do. We have done a few things well to get here but we should not speak too early.”

    “We have to remain focused and that is the message I give my players and they know it,” he said.

    Saarbruecken face Kaiserslautern in the other semi-final on Tuesday.

  • EPL: Why I snubbed Liverpool – Xabi Alonso

    EPL: Why I snubbed Liverpool – Xabi Alonso

    Bayer Leverkusen manager, Xabi Alonso has stated reasons he snubbed his former clubside Liverpool in their bid to replace Jurgen Klopp at the end of the season.

    Recall that Alonso finally confirmed he would not be leaving the Bundesliga leaders, despite interest from Liverpool and Bayern Munich.

    According to him, he still has a lot of things to prove at Leverkusen.

    He said: “It’s a process. The process and the development of the team is in parallel as mine as a manager. This is my first complete season as a manager, so I think that I still have a lot of things to prove myself.

    “Right now, I have a situation in the club where I feel really stable, really happy with the club. Because of that, it comes together that we can work together in many aspects.”

  • Bayer Leverkusen manager, Alonso laments AFCON timing, set to miss five key players

    Bayer Leverkusen manager, Alonso laments AFCON timing, set to miss five key players

    Xabi Alonso the coach of German side, Bayer Leverkusen has cried out over the timing of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON)

    The next edition of AFCON will run from January 13 to February 11, 2024 in Cote D’Ivoire.

    Leverkusen will be without five regular stars during the period.

    Two Players,  Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella  could miss playing for Leverkusen for the period of AFCON if called to camp by Super Eagles of Nigeria coach, Jose Peseiro.

    Moroccan forward Amine Adli, Burkina Faso centre-back Edmond Tapsoba, and Ivorian defender Odilon Kossounou are the other players Leverkusen could miss during the AFCON finals.

    Alonso said it is a situation his team has to deal with.

    “It is a concern for January and February, perhaps not having five players. It is a reality. We have to accept that,” Alonso told Transfermarkt.

  • Xabi Alonso not bothered by latest Real Madrid rumours

    Xabi Alonso not bothered by latest Real Madrid rumours

    Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso said on Friday he is not bothered by latest reports linking him with his former club Real Madrid.

    Spain’s Radio Marca reported this week that Real bosses had chosen Alonso as the man to succeed Carlo Ancelotti at the helm in 2024, when Acelotti moves on to coach Brazil’s national team.

    “It is too early. It is September. That’s why it is not an issue. Of course I am staying focussed.

    “We have started well into the season and I must be the first one to continue in a focussed way,” Alonso said.

    He added that the issue wasn’t troubling his players because “they know the football business. It wasn’t an issue for any one of them. And we didn’t talk about it.”

    Alonso came to Leverkusen 12 months ago and led them from second-last to sixth in the Bundesliga. They have started strongly into the new campaign with four wins and a draw.

    They  trail leaders Bayern Munich on goal difference going into Saturday’s game at bottom club Mainz.

    Alonso played at Real 2009-2014 and won the Champions League with them in his final season. He also won the elite event with Liverpool, plus the 2010 World Cup and two Euros with Spain.

    The 41-year-old has previously been linked with the coaching job at the Bernabeu but renewed his Leverkusen contract two months ago until 2026.

    But Leverkusen are reportedly ready to let him go earlier if a very big club like Real want him.

  • Xabi Alosno reveals influence on Alcantara Liverpool move

    Xabi Alosno reveals influence on Alcantara Liverpool move

    Former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso has revealed his influence on Thiago Alcantara’s move to the Merseyside club

    The Reds signed Thiago from Bayern Munich two years ago in a deal worth £25million. He has since gone on to win two major trophies and become a key player in Jurgen Klopp’s midfield.

    “We talked a lot that summer because he was thinking about the option,” Xabi, formerly of Liverpool and Bayern, told Liverpoolfc.com.

    “I said, ‘Thiago, you love football, you’re in a great club, you’re in Bayern and you’ve achieved great things, but Liverpool is pure football and you’re going to enjoy it as much as you have done. If you feel it’s the right moment for a new chapter, you won’t get better places than Liverpool’.”

    Reflecting on his time playing alongside Thiago, Xabi added: “You could see that he’s a different player.

    “He’s a different talent because he’s competitive but at the same time he has those magic Brazilian actions that are not that European.

    “He’s competitive but he can do different things. He was a great player at Bayern and he continues being consistent and being a great player at Liverpool.”

  • Xabi Alonso appointed Real Socieded B team head coach

    Xabi Alonso appointed Real Socieded B team head coach

    Former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso has been appointed as the new head coach of Real Sociedad’s B team.

    The 37-year-old has signed a two-year deal with his boyhood club, where he made 124 appearances before joining Liverpool in 2004.

    Alonso joins Sociedad from Real Madrid, where he spent the season working as a youth coach. He replaces Aitor Zulaika, who has been sacked.

    Alonso won the Champions League and the FA Cup during his five-year spell with Liverpool, before moving to Real Madrid.