Xabi Alonso: Bayer Leverkusen manager

Zehner said:
Rolfes said yesterday that he's very confident Alonso will stay for another season, same as Wirtz. That would rule out Liverpool unless they burn through their next manager within the span of one year.

I expect Alonso to replace Ancelotti in Madrid, personally. There were so many media reports that convincingly linked him with them and I don't think it is a coincidence that both Ancelotti's and Alonso's contract run until 2026. My theory is that Perez wanted him in 2024 but Alonso was undecided because this would have meant he only coached Leverkusen for ~1.5 seasons while his career plan is apparently structured in three year cycles. I guess he asked Perez for more time which is why they extended Ancelotti. Now they can flexibly begin in either 2025 or 2026. Probably 2025.
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Feel the same, while Carlo is doing great so far it is not usual for us to keep managers for that long. And it gives Alonso some more experience. I feel like he won’t want the Bayern job due to his achievements with Bayer and Liverpool while more likely have a rather average squad.

Wonder what will happen to Wirtz. If not Bayern, I guess City? Don’t see a lot of options.
 
RG77 said:
Feel the same, while Carlo is doing great so far it is not usual for us to keep managers for that long. And it gives Alonso some more experience. I feel like he won’t want the Bayern job due to his achievements with Bayer and Liverpool while more likely have a rather average squad.

Wonder what will happen to Wirtz. If not Bayern, I guess City? Don’t see a lot of options.
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Wirtz said he wants to get CL experience first before moving, so he seems willing to stay another season. Alonso might as well if he wants to do the same - get CL experience with his own grown team. Which could be crucial for Leverkusen to keep going next season, when these two stay it sends a signal.
 
Zehner said:
I expect Alonso to replace Ancelotti in Madrid, personally. There were so many media reports that convincingly linked him with them and I don't think it is a coincidence that both Ancelotti's and Alonso's contract run until 2026. My theory is that Perez wanted him in 2024 but Alonso was undecided because this would have meant he only coached Leverkusen for ~1.5 seasons while his career plan is apparently structured in three year cycles. I guess he asked Perez for more time which is why they extended Ancelotti. Now they can flexibly begin in either 2025 or 2026. Probably 2025.
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I expect Jurgen Klopp to replace Ancelotti in 2025. This Madrid team with a few more additions (Mbappe?) is tailor-made for Klopp. Also it will suit them well to replace one charismatic coach with another.. Alonso was, is and will be forever Madrid bound but as the practice suggests they are really patient with their goals as of late so few years for him in Germany and England is not a problem for Madrid.
 
Someone said:
Yes United would be a good destination. There's a new structure in place, and there should be some financial backing as well. Most of the managers we've hired were past their best or not good enough, and you can't tell me that it's not tempting managing a club with that potential. The expectations initially will be low, and he'll be given time.
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He will be better staying at Leverkusen another season rather than going to Manchester United. Then it might be a bit too soon to move to bigger team right away but if he jumps into the Liverpool job it will be something interesting to see although I wouldn't like for him to stay there long term for obvious reasons.
 
It would be good for Wirtz not to move for another season and then in 2025 we can see if we should sign him afterall
 
PepG said:
I expect Jurgen Klopp to replace Ancelotti in 2025. This Madrid team with a few more additions (Mbappe?) is tailor-made for Klopp. Also it will suit them well to replace one charismatic coach with another.. Alonso was, is and will be forever Madrid bound but as the practice suggests they are really patient with their goals as of late so few years for him in Germany and England is not a problem for Madrid.
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I think Klopp said that he would only take German or English speaking teams and not any other team in the EPL. Moreover, his personality not really suits the culture and brand of Madrid. The 'elder statesmen' aura of Ancelotti and Alonso fits them better. Just can't imagine the grounded and jovial Klopp at the club.

One way or another, so far Rolfes has given no reason not to believe him if he makes claims like the recent one that he expects Alonso to stay for another season. So even if he was to go to Liverpool first, it would mean he joins them 2025 at the earliest.
 
giorno said:
It would be good for Wirtz not to move for another season and then in 2025 we can see if we should sign him afterall
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I think he's definitely ready for an elite club and since he's proved his qualities against UCL worthy opposition like Bayern, Stuttgart, Dortmund and Leipzig time and again, I don't think he needs to play in the UCL first to prove he can do it at that level. Anyway, I won't complain if he thinks differently ;)
 
Looking at Madrid's coaching profile, Mourinho, Ancelotti and Zidane twice, Alonso seems the perfect choice.
He has showed with results that aura of strategist he had as a player, knows the club and seems malleable by the board, in the sense "don't experiment, leave Bellingham where Carletto put him".
Klopp sounds very adventurous and I think Zidane (although he may return) is not what the club needs now.
 
Hope he stays, I like him but I will hate the fecker the minute he never walks alone bullshit.
 
Zehner said:
I think Klopp said that he would only take German or English speaking teams and not any other team in the EPL. Moreover, his personality not really suits the culture and brand of Madrid. The 'elder statesmen' aura of Ancelotti and Alonso fits them better. Just can't imagine the grounded and jovial Klopp at the club.

One way or another, so far Rolfes has given no reason not to believe him if he makes claims like the recent one that he expects Alonso to stay for another season. So even if he was to go to Liverpool first, it would mean he joins them 2025 at the earliest.
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Didn't he also say he would never pay Pogba prices?
 
I'd have Graham Potter over this joker any day of the week.

hehe :P
 
Dumbstar said:
Didn't he also say he would never pay Pogba prices?
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I believe what Klopp actually said was he would only manage in a country where he knows the language. Which is a bit different as it doesn't rule out him learning another language in the meantime ;)
 
stefan92 said:
I believe what Klopp actually said was he would only manage in a country where he knows the language. Which is a bit different as it doesn't rule out him learning another language in the meantime ;)
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Yeah, he's got all this free time to learn a new language now
 
carvajal said:
Looking at Madrid's coaching profile, Mourinho, Ancelotti and Zidane twice, Alonso seems the perfect choice.
He has showed with results that aura of strategist he had as a player, knows the club and seems malleable by the board, in the sense "don't experiment, leave Bellingham where Carletto put him".
Klopp sounds very adventurous and I think Zidane (although he may return) is not what the club needs now.
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I think this depends on what you define as experimenting. If he joins Madrid, I'm pretty sure he'll play his system and formation and the players have to adapt to that. Bellingham could play as one of two CAMs or CMs in that scenario. Alonso has also played with a false 9 (Wirtz) occasionally but that was rather born out of necessity than design. I can only guess of course but I expect no more Bellingham as a false 9 when he takes over Madrid :)
 
Zehner said:
I think this depends on what you define as experimenting. If he joins Madrid, I'm pretty sure he'll play his system and formation and the players have to adapt to that. Bellingham could play as one of two CAMs or CMs in that scenario. Alonso has also played with a false 9 (Wirtz) occasionally but that was rather born out of necessity than design. I can only guess of course but I expect no more Bellingham as a false 9 when he takes over Madrid :)
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I don't think he really has a "fixed system". He is playing usually a 3421 in Leverkusen, but did use a 433 both there and at Real Sociedad B, and especially at the latter also quite often a 4231. So while his philosophy might be clear, his preferred formation does not seem to be set in stone.
 
Zehner said:
If he joins Madrid, I'm pretty sure he'll play his system and formation and the players have to adapt to that.
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Yeah of course your talking bollocks :lol:

If he joins Madrid, he adapts to the players or they sack him, simple as that
 
seems Sky are going to do all they can to make him to Liverpool happen judging by last night
 
stefan92 said:
I don't think he really has a "fixed system". He is playing usually a 3421 in Leverkusen, but did use a 433 both there and at Real Sociedad B, and especially at the latter also quite often a 4231. So while his philosophy might be clear, his preferred formation does not seem to be set in stone.
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I generally get what you mean but I think this is a wrong impression because he encourages positional flexibility so much. Whether the formation is 'officially' 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3 or 3-4-2-1, the team structure looks very similar, at least in possession. He builds up with three at the back, then has a box midfield ahead of them, two wide players and a striker. For instance, you take out Tah for Adli and on paper, this may seem as if we switched from a 3-4-2-1 to a 4-2-3-1 but in reality, Adli simply takes over Grimaldo's position while Grimaldo falls back into the back line and rotates with the CMs occasionally.

Last season, Xabi showed more tactical flexibility but you can argue that this was still an improvisational phase. I think Saturday was the only match he set up differently to the standard.


giorno said:
Yeah of course your talking bollocks :lol:

If he joins Madrid, he adapts to the players or they sack him, simple as that
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The player material is perfect for Xabi, the squad only lacks a good striker. Bellingham in particular would be excellent as a CMs or a CAM considering how maturely he is currently playing. It's not impossible that he'd keep playing him as a false 9 as he did the same with Wirtz occasionally but usually he prefers a classic striker. One way or another, Alonso comes across as more dogmatic than Zidane and Ancelotti to me. I think you guys know that and won't force him to change the system that made you want him in the first place.
 
Zehner said:
One way or another, Alonso comes across as more dogmatic than Zidane and Ancelotti to me. I think you guys know that and won't force him to change the system that made you want him in the first place.
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I completely agree with you and the two I mentioned are prime examples of the "you're better than the opposition so take the ball and win" approach. I would see Zidane and Ancelotti as man managers rather than modern coaches.
 
Zehner said:
The player material is perfect for Xabi, the squad only lacks a good striker. Bellingham in particular would be excellent as a CMs or a CAM considering how maturely he is currently playing. It's not impossible that he'd keep playing him as a false 9 as he did the same with Wirtz occasionally but usually he prefers a classic striker. One way or another, Alonso comes across as more dogmatic than Zidane and Ancelotti to me. I think you guys know that and won't force him to change the system that made you want him in the first place.
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He's an ex player, he knows how things work
 
giorno said:
He's an ex player, he knows how things work
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It's time for the next Galactico signing anyway. Make it a striker, and everything is in place for Alonso. That's how it works, isn't it?
 
Acrobat7 said:
I completely agree with you and the two I mentioned are prime examples of the "you're better than the opposition so take the ball and win" approach. I would see Zidane and Ancelotti as man managers rather than modern coaches.
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Yes. Xabi has a much more defined handwriting, IMO. But as somebody mentioned earlier, he is still less idealistic than Pep. We finished the Bayern match with 39% possession - that's highly atypical for us and would probably never happen under Guardiola. You could still see some patterns but it was overall a very different approach in the end.


giorno said:
He's an ex player, he knows how things work
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It is obvious that if Perez wants to make a marquee signing, he'll make a marquee signing whether the coach wants it or not and expects him to finde a way of integrating his newest starboy into the team but do you really think he'd force Xabi to play Bellingham as a false 9 for instance, even if the position doesn't exist in his system? My guess is he doesn't care where he plays as long as it is successful.
 
Zehner said:
It is obvious that if Perez wants to make a marquee signing, he'll make a marquee signing whether the coach wants it or not and expects him to finde a way of integrating his newest starboy into the team but do you really think he'd force Xabi to play Bellingham as a false 9 for instance, even if the position doesn't exist in his system? My guess is he doesn't care where he plays as long as it is successful.
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Depends on results
 
Samid said:


Get it done!
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No chance

Also, complaining about the small international TV money and then doing your very best to confirm the one horse league image of the Bundesliga
 
Berbaclass said:
I’d laugh so much if he rejected the scousers for Bayern after they’ve basically already assumed that he’s coming to them.
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And if he goes to Liverpool, how much will you cry? Just asking to balance things out.
 
Berbaclass said:
Why would I cry?
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I think they're asking as the Scousers are pinning all their hopes on staying in the hunt for major trophies post-Klopp on Alonso. They've been mentally writing the usual fanfiction - 'my mate who's a united fan wept for three days when Alonso was announced' - and are looking for some real-life data to inform it.
 
adexkola said:
So Bayern should avoid Alonso to make their league less of a one horse league?
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If you ask me, yes. I mean, why would you watch the Bundesliga as an international fan? You know who's going to win the league beforehand anyway and if by miracle another team actually manages to beat them once every 10 years or so, you better don't get invested because the protagonists will end up in a Bayern shirt eventually anyway. Whether or not that's true, this brand image dates back to them picking apart Klopp's title winning Dortmund side as well as Leverkusen's 'almost treble' team as well as many smaller examples along the way (Neuer, Nagelsmann, etc.) and is still prevalent as evidenced by how often it is brought up by users in here mocking the Bundesliga.

Imagine the reactions if another team wins the league for the first time in 11 years and then they sign the coach (and maybe even some players) of that team again. How are you supposed to sell such a crap product to an international audience?
 
Can someone explain why Tuchel is being so heavily criticized? This is his first season with BM and they are currently doing better than last year (points-wise), where they won the league. I would also say they are favorites to go through in CL. It's not like it's his fault that Leverkusen are having a miracle season.
 
Zehner said:
You know who's going to win the league beforehand anyway and if by miracle another team actually manages to beat them once every 10 years or so, you better don't get invested because the protagonists will end up in a Bayern shirt eventually anyway.
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I actually don't think we know that for sure now. If not for Dortmund's last minute bottle job Bayern would have won nothing last season as well and likely won't win anything this season. They lost their grip on the domestic cup years ago and they don't have that core of experienced players who grew up together anymore that carried them from van Gaal to Guardiola (with the last of them having their big final run under Flick).

Their board as well isn't smoothly operating and their bounce back after last season was quit limited. I also do wonder if it has an effect on the squad that they signed players from known bottlers (Kane and Dier from Spurs, Guerreiro from Dortmund).

Overall it currently feels to me more like we are entering a phase like the 2000s again, when Bayern still won most titles, but rarely even two in a row.

Bayern need a new LvG and a new squad core. They have too many passengers and players who think they are better than they actually are (Kimmich!) and their actual leaders who feel like "classic" Bayern players are aging (Neuer, Müller). Of the young players only Tel and at least sometimes Musiala gives me the real "Bayern vibes", but that's just a feeling.

Even yesterday it was Tel who brute forced the ball through the box (which Kane could then score), after Kane wasted other opportunities and generally didn't look great. Not enough grit, determination and leadership in some players, to little of a calm head in other players, Bayern just lack players who know how to pace their games.
 
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