“He has the quality that a ‘metronome’ must have. I’m sure that when he hangs up his boots, he’ll be a great coach if he wants to be. He reminds me of Pep Guardiola when I had him as a player.” One of European football’s most decorated managers, Jose Mourinho saw Xabi Alonso’s potential as a manager even while he was a player under him. It’s been fourteen years since Mourinho made that bold prediction. And the Spanish midfielder, who is at the helm of Bayer Leverkusen, is proving the “Special One’s” analysis to be prophetic.
In a league with giants like Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, Alonso’s club currently sits pretty right at the top with a 4-point difference with second-placed Bayern. Leverkusen have played 17 matches this season so far with an unbeaten record – 14 wins and 3 draws.
With Alonso in charge, the Leverkusen faithful are even dreaming of a first Bundesliga title in their 119-year-old history. But as we have seen with Dortmund last season, taking the title away from perennial champions Bayern’s clutches is virtually impossible. But coach Alonso has the experience of winning major honours at almost every club he played as a player. The former Spain international’s record for the country is impressive as well. The rich experience and gritty attitude he brings to the table could be the secret recipe to achieve the impossible.
Before being appointed as coach at Leverkusen in 2022, Alonso had to cut his teeth managing the Real Madrid U14s and Real Sociedad’s B team. But it wasn’t all rosy at the beginning with Leverkusen. His campaign started with just one win in his first 7 matches before going on a 2-month undefeated run at the fag end of last season which helped them qualify for the Europa League.
Playing a 3-4-3 system, Leverkusen is currently one of the best counter-attacking teams, a trait which has led to Nigerian striker Victor Boniface reaping the benefits with 16 goals in all competitions this season. But he is currently down with a groin injury that is likely to keep him out of action until April. The onus now will be on Alonso to navigate these choppy waters as the title bid with Bayern is expected to pick up pace in the second half of the season.
Their first match without Boniface was against Augsburg where it looked like the Leverkusen train would slowly come off the rails until a 94th-minute strike by Exequiel Palacios which kept their league lead alive..
Under Alonso, Leverkusen is currently the only team in Europe’s top division to not lose a competitive fixture this season. One of the reasons for the club’s consistency has been the calculated yet underrated signings approved by Alonso. The signings of Boniface, Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka, Jonas Hofmann from Borussia Mönchengladbach and Alejandro Grimaldo from Benfica have reinforced the club.
Alonso had initially struggled to find a proper link between attack and defence but as the league progressed, his trademark possession play has come to the fore.
They rank second in terms of possession with an average of 58% but their movements off the ball are what’s catching the eye. They have played 5976 passes in the opposition half with 88.5% of them finding a teammate, according to the official Bundesliga site.
A hard-working team which perfectly encapsulates its coach’s mentality, Leverkusen and Alonso could be just on the brink of something special.
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