Xabi Alonso shows courage by opting to stay at Leverkusen،
Score this one for the little guy. OK, maybe not exactly the little guy, given that Bayer Leverkusen is owned by Bayer – a pharmaceutical giant with 100,000 employees worldwide and $55 billion in revenue in 2023 – but you get my point say.
Xabi Alonso had a more than realistic chance of filling the vacant coaching position at Bayern Munich (league titles: 33, Champions League titles: 6, domestic cup titles: 20) or Liverpool (league titles: 19 , Champions League titles: 6, national titles). cups: 18) this summer. Instead, he announced on Friday that he would remain at least another season in charge of Bayer Leverkusen (league titles: 0, Champions League titles: 0, domestic cups: 1).
He's the football equivalent of the mid-tier coach who turns down a job in the SEC powerhouse to stay loyal to the people who believed in him and the rookies he brought in.
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“Right now I think it’s the right place to develop myself as a coach,” he said. “It's a process, the development of the team is parallel to my evolution as a manager. … I still have a lot of things [to do] proving myself, experimenting, and at the moment I have a situation at the club where I feel really stable, really happy with the team and the club.”
The current season is his first full campaign as a top-level coach, and it couldn't be going better. Leverkusen are unbeaten in all competitions, 10 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga and on course to set the league's all-time points record from a single season. They are in the semi-finals of the German Cup and the quarter-finals of the Europa League, meaning they could still win a trio of trophies. Such a feat would be hugely significant for a club which celebrates its 120th anniversary on July 1 and has only two pieces of silverware to show for it, the most recent dating back 31 years.
Professional sports have a pretty clear hierarchy, and their rat race rules dictate that when you're offered a (clearly) more important job, you take it. Partly because it makes you richer. Partly because it makes you more famous. Partly because it's a sign of ambition and confidence that you can take on the biggest challenges. Partly because it's not the NFL: there's a very obvious class system and the biggest, richest clubs have huge built-in advantages and usually win, so if you can join the one percent , go for it, because success can be measured. in trophies.
This is especially true given that these types of jobs are not that common. Bayern have an opening as Thomas Tuchel will leave at the end of the season after becoming Bayern's first coach since 2012 not to win the Bundesliga title – and that's partly thanks to Xabi Alonso. Liverpool are looking for a new boss as, after eight years in charge, Jurgen Klopp wants to take a break.
This sort of thing doesn't happen every year, and it certainly doesn't happen at two of the four clubs Xabi Alonso played for in his playing days and with whom he has a very obvious connection. (By the way, Real Madrid is another such club. It was discussed as a possible successor to Carlo Ancelotti until the 64-year-old Italian extended his contract in December.)
That's part of what makes Xabi Alonso's decision so remarkable. He would have had a perfect exit. After landing in Leverkusen, building the greatest team this city has ever seen and winning silverware, he could have said: “We made history together and I will love you forever, but I'm sure you will understand if I follow my heart. in Merseyside.” (Or Munich, although given that they're another Bundesliga club, that would have been a bit of a twist.)
No. Instead, he'll stay and start again. Despite the fact that Bayer Leverkusen has the fourth highest wage bill in the league and Bayern's is almost four times higher (and they will undoubtedly reload this summer). Despite the fact that he will likely lose a few of his star players this summer. Although, statistically, it will be almost impossible to achieve comparable results next season.
It's a courageous decision, contrary to what the curmudgeons may say who complain that he is too chicken to make the big jump to Liverpool or Bayern. They might tell you he's too uncertain to fill Klopp's huge shoes at Anfield or too weak to cope with the pressures of the annual Game of Thrones on Sabener Strasse. They are wrong. Staying put is the boldest decision he could make.
However, it's not just Leverkusen that tugs at his heartstrings and sense of loyalty. No, it's also a question of humility. And the fact that, simply put, Xabi Alonso is clearly wary of believing his own hype.
It is no coincidence that he referenced the fact that this is his first full season as a top-level coach and he is continuing to develop and learn the craft. Sports has a way of elevating the best coaches to demigods with an innate magical stardust that allows them to motivate athletes, inspire fans, and outperform opponents. Those who adhere to it are convinced that they are born and not created.
I like to think that Xabi Alonso – who I had the privilege of covering as a player – knows better than that. Perhaps it's the fact that, when he was a player, he worked under such coaching deities, from Rafa Benitez to Jose Mourinho to Pep Guardiola. He knows that their charisma is only one facet of their success and that there is a ton of effort and learning (and sometimes failure, the kind you learn from) behind it.
He's taking a risk by saying “no,” and he might pay the price. Leverkusen could crash and burn next season (or just win nothing). The coaching hype machine may move on to someone else. His next gig after Leverkusen may not be with a heavyweight like Liverpool or Bayern, but in another mid-major. But it is okay. When that happens, he will become a better manager, having already shown himself to be a better man.
