Xabi Alonsoclaimed in the past by Real Madridand in folder Bayern Munich y Liverpool for the next season, he announced that he will stay in Bayer Leverkusenleader of the Bundesliga. “This is the right place for me to develop as a coach”, said the former midfielder of the Spanish team. He is eight games away from making history with a club that has not won a title for 31 years. In addition, he competes in the local Cup and in the Europa League. “They gave me so many reasons to continue believing in the team, their desire and their hunger to have a great season, that I feel like my work here is not finished,” Alonso said at a press conference. after reaching an agreement with the leadership and after announcing to the team his permanence.
“I want to help the team and I want to help develop young players,” Alonso continued. He is right, since he has real diamonds in the squad, who in the coming years can be sold in million-dollar transfers: the Ivorian defender Odilon Kossounou (23 years old), also a Burkinabe defender Edmond Tapsoba (25 years old), the Ecuadorian Piero Hincapié (22 years old, former Talleres de Córdoba), the Argentine midfielder Exequiel Palacios (25 years old) and the Nigerian striker Victor Boniface (23 years). The young star joins them Florian Wirtz (20 years) and established as the Spanish full-back Alejandro Grimaldo (28 years old) and the forward is also Spanish Borja Iglesias (31 years). The mix of experience and youth gives results: Leverkusen are ten points clear at the top of the Bundesliga and is undefeated in the three competitions in which it operates (Bundesliga, Europa League and German Cup). Alonso, who at the beginning of the season renewed until 2026, He grabbed the aspirin team in October 2022, when it was second to last and flirting with relegation.
Leverkusen’s metamorphosis led to clubs like Real Madrid (in 2023) already Liverpool y Bayern Munich, this season, to have Xabi Alonso in their sights for when their current coaches leave the position. So much Jürgen Kloppmanager of the Reds, as Thomas Tuchel, at the head of the Bavarian team, will leave their positions at the end of the campaign. Alonso sounded in England and in Bavaria, but will remain in Leverkusen. Coincidentally, Alonso played for the two clubs that wanted him: from 2004 to 2009 in the city of the Beatles, and from 2004 to 2017 in Munich.
“It has been a season with a lot of speculation regarding my future. So far we have had a lot of games, we have been very busy and very focused. I wanted to use the time of the international stoppage to reflect a little better and make a decision.“Alonso said at the press conference in which he announced his permanence. He also reported that in recent days he met with the most important directors of the club. “Last week I had a good meeting with Simon -Rolfes, sports director-, Fernando -Carro, CEO- and Wenning -president-, in which I informed them of my decision to continue as coach of Bayer Leverkusen”Alonso said. And he added: “This is the place I want to be. I have informed the players of my decision, I am very grateful and I believe it is the best way to continue the path together. My work at Bayer is not over. I am still a young coach and I think this is the best decision for my future”, he concluded.
“You have to analyze all the possibilities and I try to make good decisions, do it in a natural way. We can have a great season and we are fighting for it,” he recalled. This Friday’s announcement will allow the club from the outskirts of Cologne to calmly address the last two months of the most important season in its history, with a Bundesliga title very close. Founded in 1904 by the chemical company Bayer, the club has only won two titles in 120 years of history: the UEFA Cup -predecessor of the Europa League- in 1988 and the German Cup in 1993. This season he intends to add three trophies to his poor showcase, after a journey in which runners-up abound (in the Bundesliga in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2011, in the Cup; 2002, 2009 and 2020, and even in the League of Champions, in 2002), which has earned him the nicknames of Don’t cry o Vizekusen (second)
With information from the AP, AFP and DPA agencies.