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Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has been full of praise for Xabi Alonso. On the occasion of the Bundesliga match that takes place this Sunday between Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen, the former president of the German giant wanted to make clear his opinion of the man who was a player in the past at Allianz.
He admits that he tried to bring Xabi to the Bayern staff when he was in charge: “Once we tried to bring him to Bayern as assistant coach. I think it was with Niko Kovac. When you had incredible success everywhere, at Liverpool, at Real Madrid, at Bayern, at the national team… You’re a good guy, so disciplined and empathetic, it would be amazing not to succeed as a coach.”
“Once we tried to bring him to Bayern as assistant coach. I think it was with Niko Kovac.”
“Xabi has to gain experience now and it is smart not to go directly to Real Madrid, but one or two levels below”, he argued. Rummenigge sees the step taken by the Basque by going to Bayern as the right one. Of course, everything indicates that the Munich team follows his movements very closely.
First professional adventure
It was in October when the man from Tolosa decided to take a new course in his coaching career. Alonso was chosen by the leadership of Leverkusen to take charge of the Rhenish club. He signed until 2024. Until then, he directed the subsidiary of Real Sociedad. This is his first adventure in professional soccer.
He caught the team in a difficult position and is currently ninth in the table, six points behind European positions. It comes from two consecutive victories, against Werder Bremen and Hertha. We’ll see if this weekend he’s capable of standing up to his beloved Bayern (which is leading, but only two points above Dortmund).
