He is the architect of Bayer Leverkusen’s success and can even be crowned triple coach in the final phase of the season: Xabi Alonso (42) can already look back on a sensational season.
The world and European champion has long been a hero under the Bayer Cross, and even naming a street after Alonso is already being discussed. The fact that he will also be on the sidelines next season has recently brought some relief. There was still a foretaste of the distant future on Sunday (May 5, 2024) with the 5-1 win in Frankfurt.
Xabi Alonso had to watch Leverkusen win in Frankfurt
Because despite all the Alonso euphoria, one thing is clear: the former world-class player will not sit in the coaching bench in Leverkusen forever. Clubs like Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Liverpool FC are already only being discussed on the top shelf when it comes to the possible next step in his career.
The fact that Alonso was not sitting in his coaching zone at the weekend, but up in the stands, was not a test run, but rather due to his yellow card suspension in the Bundesliga. However, looking at the 90 minutes in an unusual constellation revealed some surprising insights.
Although the Werkself champion players never miss an opportunity to emphasize the importance of their coach for their recent successes, he himself confessed at the microphone of the sports channel ESPN after the final whistle: “Nobody missed the guy who normally sits on the bench.”
Although he said the sentence with a visible laugh, Alonso was primarily concerned with emphasizing the value of his coaching team. This time, in addition to his usual duties, he was forced to take on the role of head coach.
Bayer madness
All goals in added time for Leverkusen in 2023/24
“The players did really well, as did the staff on the bench. “It was very easy to communicate and convey to the players the tactical things we saw,” praised Alonso.
In view of his somewhat limited access options, he should still be relieved to be able to watch the last decisive games of Leverkusen’s record season again on his usual spot at the level of the turf.
2024-05-09 05:28:28
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