Bayer Leverkusen’s Spanish coach, Xabi Alonso, during the victory against Augsburg in the German championship, May 18, 2024. INA FASSBENDER / AFP
For the first time this season, Xabi Alonso couldn’t find the words. Undefeated in the first 51 matches of the 2023-2024 financial year – an absolute record for a European club – its Bayer Leverkusen lost on Wednesday May 22 in the final of the Europa League against Atalanta Bergamo (0- 3). Accustomed to reversals of situation at the end of a match, the “Werkself” (the “factory eleven”) let their dream of a treble slip away, after having dethroned Bayern Munich by winning the Bundesliga for the first time in its history.
The winning machine therefore ended up stalling. But in the eyes of the 42-year-old Spanish coach, there is nothing to call into question the success of his team. Better, “we have to use this disappointment for our German Cup final”, he explained on Wednesday, after the rout against the “Dea”. Because in the absence of a treble, Bayer can still achieve a double, Saturday May 25, in the event of victory against Kaiserslautern, a second division club.
During this match, supporters of the North Rhine-Westphalia club will await the strokes of genius of Florian Wirtz – 21 years old, voted best player in the championship across the Rhine –, or the bleeding rises of the tireless Alex Grimaldo and Jeremie Frimpong. They will pray for the return of this attractive game, which disappeared for one evening in Dublin, set up by Xabi Alonso, former midfielder for Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, winner of a World Cup (2010) and two Euros (2008, 2012) with the Spanish selection.
Since the end of his playing career in 2017, the Basque has swapped his flashy jerseys for sweaters or simple polo shirts which serve as his coaching outfit. Clothing choices that reflect the man in the field that he was. “When you think of the teams he’s been through, it’s never the name that comes first”notes Lionel Potillon, ex-defender, who spent a season alongside him at Real Sociedad, where he made his professional debut in December 1999.
“He wasn’t able to take the ball and eliminate five players. Xabi was more understanding”recalls Raynald Denoueix, who managed the young midfielder in the San Sebastián club between 2002 and 2004. His footballing qualities did not make him the star of video compilations, but rather a precious metronome in the heart of the game They also suggested predispositions for his second career.
“He has always been the architect of the team, the centerpiece, which brings together all the othersrecalls Lionel Potillon. He was very young at Real, but he was already taking up a lot of space. He was consulted by other players and coaches. He even sometimes made decisions. »
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2024-05-25 09:30:02
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