With Carlo Ancelotti set to leave the Bernabeu this summer, the Blancos' former midfielder is putting himself in the frame to step into his shoes
A video emerged from Bayer Leverkusen training earlier this month. In the minute-long clip, a disgruntled Xabi Alonso berates his team for failing to meet his expectations in a passing drill. In a moment of frustration, the manager, 41, steps in, and metronomically sprays the ball around the training pitch – all while yelling instructions to the group.
It was a microcosm of how Alonso has handled this Bayer side. Since taking over in October 2022, the Spaniard has been handed near-unchecked power to restructure the club. And he's worked wonders with his authority. In 12 months, Leverkusen have gone from the lower reaches of the table to looking like Bayern Munich's most apparent Bundesliga challengers – with a promising Europa League run in between.
This has all come about for a club experiencing immense turnover. Some stars in the making have left, replaced with well-travelled European stalwarts. Meanwhile, other players have been reinvented, and deployed in more appropriate roles. The result is a dangerous team that will likely only improve – led by a manager who, at this rate, will have a job at a far bigger club next year.
Getty ImagesTaking over a struggling side
It was a loss to Bayern Munich that doomed Alonso's predecessor, Gerardo Seoane. The manager had overseen a poor start to the Bundesliga season with Leverkusen, as his side won just one of their first eight games. There was hope that a result against Bayern could rescue things – and perhaps even kickstart an unlikely turnaround. Instead, Leverkusen were battered. Bayern went 1-0 up inside five minutes, and had scored three by half-time. Seoane was let go a week later, and Alonso was announced as the new manager within 24 hours.
Expectations were admittedly low. Alonso, at that point, had only ever had one managerial job, overseeing Real Sociedad's reserve side as they achieved an unlikely promotion to the second tier of Spanish football. Here was an inexperienced but well-regarded coach, one who wasn't necessarily one expected to be an immediate success for a club with European ambitions.
But Alonso, who played under the likes of Rafa Benitez, Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti during his career as one of Europe's finest midfielders, quickly showed that he was more than up to the task.
Leverkusen battered struggling Schalke in his first game in charge, putting four past the relegation favourites. Results were mixed for the rest of the calendar year, but wins over Union Berlin and Koln, combined with a 2-2- draw with Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, showed that Leverkusen could certainly play.
Moussa Diaby, once a bonafide wonderkid who seemed to have lost his way, returned to form, and, along with electric wing-back Jeremie Frimpong, saw Leverkusen become a dangerous team in transition.
But it was at the other end where Leverkusen's improvements were most apparent. They were bleeding goals under Seoane, conceding over two-per-game before he was sacked. Alonso drove that number down, deploying a three-man defence that saw Leverkusen become far more reliable at the back.
Advertisement CGTN Sports SceneA dominant spring
That was most apparent in a mesmerising second half of the 2022-23 season. After failing to get out of their Champions League group, Alonso's side established themselves as giantkillers both domestically and in European competitions. It started with an unlikely victory over heavily favoured Monaco in the Europa League, Leverkusen advancing on penalties after a thrilling 3-2 second leg win away from home.
The return from a serious knee injury of highly-rated playmaker Florian Wirtz defined that contest, the No.10, orchestrating things from the middle of the park, scoring a goal and proving crucial in the build up to two others. He had a similar influence a few weeks later, when Leverkusen put four past surging Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise.
And although their luck ran out to a predictably dogged Jose Mourinho-led Roma in the semi-finals, Leverkusen showed that, led by Alonso, they could compete in Europe once again.
Domestically, things were even better. Bayern were in good form when they traveled to Leverkusen in early March. They were only five days removed from knocking Paris Saint-Germain out of the Champions League, and although Borussia Dortmund were surging in the league, the defending champions appeared to be well in control of the division they had won for nine consecutive years.
What happened next almost derailed their season, though, as Leverkusen outplayed the Bavarians in the second half, turning in a counter-attacking clinic to deliver a 2-1 victory that was far more convincing than the scoreline suggested.
“I’ve hardy ever seen something like this”, said then-Bayern Munich sporting director, Hasan Salihamidzic. “We got everything wrong and were battered by a team that played on Thursday."
The result was an arrival of sorts for Leverkusen. It was one thing to impress in Europe, but to beat the Bundesliga champions, for the first time since 2019, suggested that Alonso's Leverkusen were there to stay. They faltered towards the end of the season, failing to win in the month of May. Still, Alonso had taken a relagation-threatened side to a sixth-placed finish — all while implementing a system that was scintillating to watch.
Getty ImagesSmart tactical adjustments
Inevitably, the eyes of Europe turned to the team. Last summer was marked by transfer talk and the possibility that Alonso might leave. Tottenham reportedly coveted him for their vacant job, before eventually hiring Ange Postecoglu. Meanwhile, their best player was pinched, with Aston Villa shelling out €60 million (£52m/$64m) for Diaby. Others nearly left, too. Frimpong was linked with Manchester United. Wirtz cropped up as a target for Manchester City. Meanwhile, Liverpool, in need of a centre-back, reportedly made a push for Piero Hincapie.
Alonso, of course, would stay. So too did Wirtz, Hincapie and Frimpong. But the team undoubtedly needed restructuring. In came Granit Xhaka, Nathaniel Tella, Josip Stanisic and Victor Boniface. Jonas Hofmann and veteran left-back Alex Grimaldo were also added.
The manager, meanwhile, adjusted his system. Xhaka slotted in alongside Exequiel Palacios in midfield, while Wirtz and Hofmann were deployed as duel-No.10s to counter the loss of Diaby. With width no longer an option from his wide attackers, Alonso opted to have his best offensive players tuck inside and support a single centre-forward.
Alonso's new 3-4-2-1 system perfectly complemented his squad's strengths, while retaining Leverkusen's defensive solidity and verticality in transition. The result has been three straight wins to start the season, with 11 goals scored.
Getty ImagesA star striker
But perhaps the real revelation has been the man they signed to play up front. After starring in Nigeria, Boniface spent the first two years of his European career riddled with injuries. He damaged his ACL twice, and didn't become a regular starter for Bodo/Glimt until 2021. By the end of the 2022-23 season, Boniface had only played 100 top-flight European fixtures, a remarkably low number for a 22-year-old who moved from Nigeria at 18.
That small sample size did little to take away from his undeniable attacking quality, though. Boniface scored seven and assisted seven for Union Saint-Gilloise last season, enough for Leverkusen to pay €20m for his services. And the investment has paid off thus far.
Boniface showed promise in pre-season with a lovely half-volleyed goal against West Ham, but since then, he's exploded. The Nigerian has scored four and assisted two in three Bundesliga starts, living up to the lofty expectations that come with leading the line for a side who are now being tipped as title contenders.
"He's not just a classic striker, not just a bomber – he's complete," Alonso told of his No.9. "We are happy with him, he has scored four goals so far, but we expect more."