José Mourinho’s prediction about Xabi Alonso becoming a top manager is coming true. Five years ago, Mourinho saw potential in the former Liverpool midfielder.
Alonso started his coaching journey with Real Madrid’s under-14s team in 2018 while earning his UEFA badges. He then moved to manage Real Sociedad’s B team and led them to promotion from the third tier.
In October 2022, he took over Bayer Leverkusen when they were in the relegation zone and guided them to a sixth-place finish. Now, they’re competing for the Bundesliga title without losing a single league match this season.
Back in 2019, Mourinho told Top Eleven: “With Xabi Alonso, you always saw there was a manager there. Similarly to me, his father was a player. He grew up with a father who was a player then a manager, and then he became a player, of course much better than I was.
“His knowledge of the game was very high and then he played in Spain, England and Germany and was coached by [Pep] Guardiola at Bayern, by myself in Real Madrid, by [Carlo] Ancelotti in Real Madrid and by [Rafa] Benítez in Liverpool. So if you put all that together, then I would say that Xabi has the conditions to be a very good coach.”
Alonso and Mourinho clashed in the semi-finals of last season’s Europa League, with AS Roma just managing to beat Leverkusen 1-0 over two legs. Alonso had nothing but praise for his former Real Madrid boss ahead of their match, particularly noting Mourinho’s excellent communication skills.
“I have learned a lot from all my coaches and I have transformed it into my own personality as a coach who is starting out. Rafa is football, tactics: how to fit in, how to help, what to do… Pep tells you: ‘Let’s play like this and this will happen’. He is very good at that,” said the Spaniard.
“From Mourinho, I highlight the strength and intelligence he has to communicate. From Luis [Aragones], I’d like to highlight his conviction and his ability to define what you wanted. [Vicente] Del Bosque taught me to worry about the things you have to worry about. Ancelotti stood out when it came to transmitting what good football is and what we had to do.”
Alonso, the favorite to take over from Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool, played it cool when asked about rumors of his return to Anfield. He commented: “At the moment, I am really happy here. I enjoy my work here and feel that it’s given me a challenge. We are on an intense but beautiful journey here in Leverkusen and I’m trying to give my best to help my players be ready for the next thing.”
