Pep Guardiola had a good premonition. As early as 2017 he said: Xabi Alonso will “definitely” have a career as a coach. At that time Guardiola was still the boss of the midfielder at Bayern.
Three years later, Alonso is actually considered one of the greatest coaching talents. The former strategist led Real Sociedad’s second team to the top flight of the Spanish third division in his sophomore year. Until Saturday, the team from San Sebastian was still undefeated and leaders of the table, after the 1: 2 against SD Amorebieta they are in third place with a catch-up game in the backhand.
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Alonso, a 114-time Spanish national player, is supposed to lead the reserve of the current top division leader after finishing fifth in his first season and despite several departures in the summer in the second division and inspires his players.
Alonso “has not lost talent”
“Xabi Alonso knows a lot about football. He teaches us the game as if he were still playing together. He gives you courage and corrects a lot,” said midfielder Roberto López, praised his former boss . “He hasn’t lost his talent and likes to take part in the exercises.”
The 38-year-old coach is not a loudspeaker. He observes what is happening on the pitch rather cautiously, gives his instructions with calm and style and often makes the right decisions – as he did as a player.
At Real Madrid they only called him “Professor” between 2009 and 2014 because he ran the game like a scholar. The Spaniard also impressed the stars from 2014 to 2017 during his time at Bayern. National player Kimmich enthused France Football. “He was really special. His reading of the game was amazing. He always knew what was going to happen before he got the ball. He was the team’s brain.” They are the ideal characteristics of a trainer.
Guardiola raved about his leading players Philipp Lahm and Alonso: “Both have great personalities. They are absolutely exceptional in every respect – as people, as teammates and as football players. You can’t even imagine that.”
Guardiola, Ancelotti and Benitez as teachers
Now Alonso wants to follow in the footsteps of his former coach. “I wanted to find out Guardiola’s secrets,” the 38-year-old ex-professional justified his move to Bayern in 2014 in an interview with The Athletic. During his other stints in Liverpool and Real Madrid, the former international also played under Rafael Benitez, José Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti. So Alonso learned from the best.
Alonso passes on this experience at his youth club, where he made his professional debut 18 years ago. Just three years after the end of his active career, the Basque is already back on the fast track to the top.
Alonso is actually just a talent developer for the first team at San Sebastian. His team plays the same system as the pro team to make the transition easier for the players. This concept is bearing fruit. In the summer four players were promoted to the first division representation. With López and Martin Zubimendi, two former Alonso protégés are instantly among the top performers in the surprise team.
Rummenigge: Alonso one for Bavaria
Despite the specifications, Alonso’s Reserve also convinces with a signature from the boss. The Daily Mail describes the way of playing with “a certain flair”. What is meant is the approach to act primarily with short passes and many combinations. Alonso did not deviate from his idea after he had given up his four top performers and started the current season with a squad of only 16 players.
This is already attracting a lot of international attention. Bayern boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said in the image-Podcast “Phrasenmower”: “I believe that one day he will be a coach who may be of interest to FC Bayern at some point in the future.” According to Rummenigge, Julian Nagelsmann also wanted to sign the Spaniard as an assistant at RB Leipzig. “I knew that Xabi had a request from Leipzig as Nagelsmann’s co-trainer,” the boss chatted at a sponsorship event.
Guardiola also wanted to guide his ex-player to Manchester City as an assistant coach in the summer.
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So the probability is quite high that Alonso will actually follow in Guardiola’s footsteps at one of his ex-clubs – at Bayern or ManCity.
In any case, the Spaniard is stuck in a dead end on the way up near San Sebastian. Imanol Alquacil is the current leader of La Liga and is firmly in the saddle with the first team.
