Former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso has been named the new coach of Bayer Leverkusen, replacing Gerardo Zion, after being ousted from the Bundesliga club on Wednesday. Alonso, 40, has signed a contract until June 2024. In his first coaching position at the highest level, he takes over the second team from the bottom after eight games of the German season. “I have known Leverkusen as a great club since my time in Germany,” said Alonso, who spent the last three years of his playing career with Bayern Munich.
Bayer has always had great players, I also see a lot of quality in the current squad. I am very passionate about this job.
As a player, Alonso won the 2010 World Cup and two European Championships with Spain. He has also won the Champions League with Liverpool and Madrid.
Alonso scored for Liverpool in the 2005 Champions League final to extend the game, in which the Reds eventually beat Milan on penalties.
He led Real Sociedad’s reserve team in his home region of the Basques for three years until May, before being relegated at the end of last season, being promoted to the Spanish second division for the first time in 60 years.
Simon Rolfs, Leverkusen Sporting Director, said: “With Xabi Alonso, we have hired a manager who has become a player who is an absolute world-class professional, a shrewd strategist and a highly successful performer in the three most challenging leagues in the world. Europe. he has been. “
Leverkusen confirmed Zion’s departure from the Champions League on Tuesday following a 2-0 defeat to Porto.
Despite leading the Champions League to third place last season, Leverkusen have struggled a lot this season under the guidance of the Swiss manager.
They were eliminated in the first round of the German Cup by third division SV Alversburg and have only won once in the Bundesliga.
Leverkusen chief executive Fernando Caro said on Sunday he wanted “quick results” from Zion, whose side were beaten 4-0 by Bayern Munich on Friday.
Former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel, along with Eddie Heuter and Domenico Tedesco, is rumored to be a possible replacement for Zion.
Alonso ended his career at Bayern in 2017, winning the Bundesliga in each of his three seasons there.
He had previously been largely tied to a coaching job at Borussia Moenchengladbach in March 2021, but signed a one-year extension in Spain.
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Alonso’s first match at the helm of Leverkusen will be on Saturday against Schalke in the Bundesliga.
(This story was not edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
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