According to Uli Hoeneß, FC Bayern Munich would like to bring in Xabi Alonso as their new coach. “We would like to sign him,” said the influential honorary president of the German soccer record champions to Bayerischer Rundfunk. However, Hoeneß added that the chances of luring the former Bayern player and current coach of Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen to Munich were not very great.
Bringing Alonso back would be “very difficult, not to say probably impossible,” said the 72-year-old before the Bundesliga classic against Borussia Dortmund this Saturday (6.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on Sky). Hoeneß expects the Spanish coach to stay in Leverkusen. He could “imagine that, the way I got to know him and appreciate him, he would be more inclined to carry on because he doesn’t want to leave it behind now.”
Alonso is coaching a club “that is currently in the process of becoming German champions. He has a lot to thank this club for, and so does she,” added Hoeneß. “If he had had two or three years more success, it would probably be easier to get him out of there.” If, as he expected, things didn’t work out with Alonso, “it will be the task of the sporting management to look for alternatives to find”.
The British portal “The Athletic” is also currently reporting that Alonso will probably stay in Leverkusen next season. It can be read there that FC Bayern Munich and Liverpool FC currently assumed that Europe’s most sought-after football coach would not be available this summer and were therefore intensively looking for other options. Accordingly, the English, who are looking for a successor to outgoing coach Jürgen Klopp, have been aware for a long time that Alonso would probably not leave the factory club. ESPN and Sky Sports UK also reported that former Liverpool professional Alonso is no longer on the Reds’ list when looking for a coach.
Rangnick as Plan B at FC Bayern?
In Munich, other candidates to succeed Thomas Tuchel are Roberto De Zerbi (Brighton & Hove Albion), who Liverpool is also said to have on the list, and Ralf Rangnick (Austria national team). The name of 65-year-old Rangnick, once a coach in Stuttgart, Leipzig and at FC Schalke 04, was also mentioned by “Kicker” on Thursday evening as Plan B.
Liverpool are also said to be interested in Ruben Amorim from Sporting Lisbon. Antonio Conte and Zinédine Zidane, who are currently without a club, have also been linked with Munich. Bayern’s sports director Max Eberl did not want to commit to a fixed date for the search for a coach at Sky: “It would be nice if we could do it in April. If it takes a little longer, it just takes a little longer.” Eberl did not comment on names.
“We’re working on several trainers,” said Eberl, “we’re sounding things out, we’re looking at what’s really feasible. We’re trying to find the right trainer,” said the 50-year-old and, referring to the candidate, explained: “There are general conditions that you also have to meet. Maybe it’s a coach who would be a perfect fit, but the conditions are so exorbitant that we say, okay, that might not be a good fit at all.” We think about it a lot, “it’s not a quick shot where we say: ‘Big guy Name is possible, it’s free, we’ll get it!'” said Eberl: “We’ll try to see the Grand and then decide: That’s the best fit for Bayern Munich.”
Eberl also commented on Sky about Munich’s future squad. The team of the future should be built around Jamal Musiala. From the perspective of the sports director, the offensive player is not for sale and should become “the face of FC Bayern in the future”. “Jamal is a player who is extremely enjoyable. “He embodies FC Bayern to an extreme,” said Eberl. The 21-year-old has been playing for Bayern since 2020 and has a contract that runs until 2026. “It is our intention to make him the new face of FC Bayern.”
Unlike Musiala, Eberl also spoke about the importance of the future coach when asked questions about other players. Leon Goretzka is “an important part of FC Bayern,” said the sports director. “But the coaching question decides the squad planning.” Eberl’s statements were similar when asked about a possible change from Joshua Kimmich: “Josh says very clearly: Max, I want to know who the new coach is. Then these questions will also arise. Whether he wants it, whether we want it, that’s what Joshua decides in the long run. But the first question is the coaching question.”
Christopher Meltzer, Munich Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 43 A comment from Christopher Meltzer Published/Updated: Recommendations: 39 Laura Gabler Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 3
Xabi Alonso (42) has been head coach at Leverkusen since October 2022. The Spanish world and European champion led his team from the bottom of the table into the Europa League, which is still unbeaten in all competitions this season. Leverkusen is ten points ahead of the Bundesliga and is heading for its first championship title. In the DFB Cup semi-finals, Bayer is favorite against second division club Fortuna Düsseldorf, and in the Europa League they face West Ham United in the quarter-finals.
