During one of his multiple periods of searching for a coach, Pablo Longoria looked into the Xabi Alonso case. It was in 2022, before the Spanish coach exploded at Bayer Leverkusen.
He is one of the most coveted coaches of the moment. And Xabi Alonso could have made his debut at the highest level on the bench of Olympique de Marseille. In 2022, the former Spain international was contacted by Pablo Longoria, who was looking for a successor to Pablo Sampaoli.
“He told me no with an elegance… The same one he had when he played football, a 40-meter crossbar in his feet, tells the Spanish leader in the columns of So Foot. He was telling me no, I should have been upset, but I almost wanted to thank him (laughs). You see that his brain goes at another speed. (…) He knew exactly the three or four clubs he wanted to coach and was ready to wait for them. »
OM had taken Tudor
That summer, when Roberto De Zerbi was also coveted, OM finally set their sights on Igor Tudor. Xabi Alonso, for his part, waited a few more months before taking the plunge. After coaching the Real Madrid youth team (2018-2019) then the Real Sociedad reserve team (2019-2022), the former midfielder was named head of Bayer Leverkusen in October 2022.
Under his orders, the German club, current leader of the Bundesliga, has become one of the most beautiful teams in Europe. Xabi Alonso has quickly become one of the most highly rated young coaches in Europe, since he is believed to have a future with Chelsea, Liverpool or even Real Madrid.
