Former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich midfielder, Xabi Alonso has taken major steps into management. He was appointed the new Bayer Leverkusen boss just a week ago and has received congratulatory messages from across the football world.
In his first game at the club, Leverkusen came away with a convincing 4-0 win against Schalke O4. This is the ideal start to Alonso’s career as a manager in the top flight.
Pep Guardiola has gone ahead to congratulate his former player on his massive appointment. The Man City boss had nothing but kind words and stated he was very happy for Alonso who he coached at Bayern Munich.
“I am pleased for Xabi Alonso,” Pep said. “He was an exceptional holding midfielder. He is a lovely person, lovely guy and I am so happy for him.”
He continued, “I wish him the best and I hope he does a good job.”
In Alonso’s first game, his actions on the sidelines were compared to those of Pep Guardiola, who is known for being very animated during games. Even though his former boss is one of the coaches he looks up to, Xabi Alonso said in a press conference that it’s natural for him to want to be part of the action and that it’s not unusual for him to act this way. Carlo Ancelotti, Jose Mourinho, and Pep Guardiola are some of the old coaches who influenced the former Sociedad captain’s coaching career. One of the most important things he learned from these three of the best coaches in the world is how to lead a team. Like these other managers, Alonso wants his team to control games by playing hard.
Alonso has a similar fashion style to Guardiola, and it would be interesting to see both men on the touchline together in the near future.
