Xabi Alonso: Former Liverpool and Bayern Munich player held talks over Borussia Monchengladbach job
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Updated 23/03/2021 at 12:58 GMT
Xabi Alonso is in contention to become the new manager of Borussia Monchengladbach. Kicker in Germany claim that the current Real Sociedad B manager has held talks with the club to replace Borussia Dortmund-bound Marco Rose. Alonso retired in 2017 and has since gone on to manage at youth level for Real Madrid and Real Sociedad’s B team.
Former Spanish football player Xabi Alonso speaks to media
Image credit: Getty Images
Former Bayern Munich and Liverpool player Xabi Alonso has held talks over the Borussia Monchengladbach managerial role, according to German publication Kicker.
Incumbent Monchengladbach coach Marco Rose is set to take over at Borussia Dortmund at the conclusion of the current campaign, and Die Fohlen have identified current Real Sociedad B team manager Alonso as a potential replacement.
Alonso, a three-time Bundesliga winner with Bayern Munich, retired from football in 2017 and completed his UEFA Elite coaching course in 2018. He has been manager of Sociedad's B team since June 2019, with the team finishing fifth in Segunda División B Group 2 in a season cut short by the coronavirus pandemic.
Here are Eurosport Spain's Felix Martin's thoughts on a potential move.
Is Alonso ready to coach in the Bundesliga?
Probably not, but neither were Zinedine Zidane or Pep Guardiola. Zidane was coaching Real Madrid Castilla in the third division of Spain when he was appointed and Guardiola was coaching Barça C in the fourth tier.
Additionally, Alonso has done very well with Sociedad B. The third division is split into groups, and the second group – the one with sides from the northern region is probably the toughest due to its physicality. Real Sociedad B are top, which speaks volumes about Alonso’s ability as a coach.
What are his strengths?
He’s a coach from the Spanish school. He’s been part of Spain’s best national team, sharing the midfield with players like Xavi Hernández, and Andres Iniesta. Plus, his experience is broad.
At Liverpool he learned how to thrive in physically demanding conditions. At Real Madrid he performed under constant pressure and has played under Guardiola at Bayern, so he knows the league. As well as Guardiola, he has played under some of the best coaches in the world - these include: Carlo Ancelotti, Rafa Benitez, Jose Mourinho, Vicente del Bosque, Javier Clemente, Periko Alonso, and John Toshack.
He has everything to become a great coach.
How surprised are you by this news?
It is a shock. It was expected that he would start his senior coaching career in San Sebastián with Sociedad. It was expected his career as a coach would mirror his playing career which was to build his reputation at Sociedad before moving on to a bigger challenge.
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