“My work here is not finished.” With these few words, spoken this Friday noon at a press conference on the eve of the meeting between Bayer Leverkusen and Hoffenheim (3:30 p.m.), Xabi Alonso sealed his destiny to that of the club he is taking to the summits . It’s now official: the former Spanish midfielder will stay at least one more season in North Rhine-Westphalia, with the club he is leading to the Bundesliga title.
Eight days before the end of the German championship, the Werkself (the factory club) is 10 points ahead of Bayern Munich. Above all, the only club still undefeated, in all competitions in Europe, displays a staggering 86.8% winning rate (38 matches, 33 wins, 5 draws). A change that many attribute to Alonso, who arrived on the Bayer bench in October 2022.
In addition to the first title in its history (5 times runner-up in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2011), Bayer can remain undefeated throughout the season. A feat never before accomplished in Germany which would recall those of AC Milan in 1991-1992 and Arsenal in 2003-2004.
“Putting everything together, I made this important decision,” he explained. I’m convinced it’s the right one. I belong here, I will stay at Bayer. » A decision that he also wanted to announce quickly, to dispel doubts about his future.
Xabi Alonso was announced by some as leaving at the end of the season, notably to Bayern and Liverpool, two of his former clubs whose respective coaches, Thomas Tuchel and Jürgen Klopp, will leave the ship at the end of the year in progress. “I won’t comment on Liverpool or Bayern,” Alonso said. They are big clubs and I have strong links with them, but I am where I want to be.”
The former defensive midfielder, who says he informed his players of his decision, believes he still has things to prove before the big leap: “This is my first full season as a manager. I still have a lot to prove and experience. Right now, I’m in a place where I feel really stable and happy. »
It remains to be seen, from now on, who among his players will imitate him. Such performances this season have necessarily put many of his good elements in the small papers of big clubs. We are thinking, in particular, of the twirling Florian Wirtz (20 years old), the talented full-backs Jeremie Frimpong (23 years old) and Alejandro Grimaldo (28 years old), the scorer Victor Boniface (23 years old) or even the midfielder Ezequiel Palacios ( 25 years).
