Brace yourselves for a flood of “Greetings, Xabi” in the near future. As we approach Wednesday of next week, Xabi Alonso will find himself back in his native Basque region, now widely referred to as the old country. The focus will be on his teenage years spent in Kells, where he not only improved his English language skills, but also participated in GAA. Alonso’s previous claim that participants in the sport needed protective helmets will likely resurface. Sure enough, this will be met with an enthusiastic “cead mile failte”, or a hundred thousand welcomes in traditional Irish.
Known for his manners and courtesy, Alonso will certainly entertain these recollections. Expect him to participate in photo sessions, engage in conversations about his fondness for Irish culture, and express what it feels like to return to his past. Then, after reminiscing on his times in Kells, Alonso’s focus will shift to his current objective.
At the club recognised as die werkself, Alonso is shaping an impressive legacy at Bayern Leverkusen. He has led the team to oust Bayern Munich from their seemingly eternal Bundesliga throne and has guided them to the finals of the German Cup. The attractive, complex football they have been playing secured their place in the Europa League final in Dublin, facing Atalanta. If you can grab a ticket for this event…
Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen secured a place in the football history books by drawing 2-2 in their Europa League semi-final second leg match against AS Roma. While a draw doesn’t seem extraordinary, this was Leverkusen’s 49th game of the season without defeat, an amazing record of W40 D9 L0. This achievement spans both domestic and European football, surpassing the previous record set by Benfica of 48 unbeaten games, a record that had remained unchallenged for 59 years. Being alongside a legend like Eusebio is undoubtedly an honour.
Worth repeating are the remarkable statistics collected over an extraordinary season: The Bundesliga championship, Leverkusen’s first, came in the organisation’s 119th year. Remarkably, 31 of their goals have been scored in the final 10 minutes. The team has not lost a match since the end of the last season.
On a recent Thursday, Leverkusen once again demonstrated their uncanny determination to not only win, but also to avoid defeat at all costs. Alonso’s team, carrying a 2-0 advantage from the initial match, found themselves shocked when they fell 2-0 behind due to a pair of penalties in favour of Roma. This tied the score 2-2 on an aggregate basis, thereby introducing a level of unpredictability and confusion amongst fans and even Alonso’s players, who had been performing convincingly well. Despite a few core players being sidelined, Leverkusen’s team managed to dominate the game, impressively taking 32 shots, yet needed an unintended own goal from the opposition to regain their lead. Their undefeated streak, however, came to an end.
It was the 82nd minute. With seven additional minutes to play, their ultimate goal was in sight – the Europa League final. Despite having the opportunity to adopt a more time-wasting, dramatic strategy to ensure their spot was secure, Alonso’s team chose to persistently push the ball forward. In the final seconds, Josip Stanisic scored the equalizer, making it 2-2 and, in turn, solidifying Leverkusen’s place in the final and their remarkable record.
Cue the wild celebrations, not excluding Alonso who ran across the field in sheer delight. “The chance to win a total of three trophies is still within our reach,” he proudly commented, “and my chaps have rightly earned their place to claim all three.”
Disagreement was nowhere in sight. The upcoming week will see Leverkusen play against Atalanta on Wednesday in Dublin, swiftly followed by Kaiserslautern in the German Cup final in Berlin three days later. Interestingly, Kaiserslautern are currently languishing at 14th place in the second division. While Atalanta shouldn’t be taken lightly, the unprecedented possibility of winning an undefeated ‘treble’ still remains.
However, before the final show-downs comes a nostalgic journey to Bochum on Sunday evening. Like the rematch with Roma, this upcoming fixture will likely stir up haunting memories from just a year ago, when the Italian team defeated Leverkusen at the same tournament phase and shortly after, the Bundesliga season concluded with a 3-0 defeat to narrowly-avoiding-relegation Bochum. The long-standing fear of relegation continues for the club situated just 45 minutes north of Leverkusen, but now their visiting opponents seem entirely revamped.
Alonso has been managing the team for nearly 20 months, up from his initial eight-month tenure. Leverkusen, far from being a team without prospects, had played in the previous season’s Champions League and had triumphed over Atletico Madrid with a 2-0 scoreline. Additionally, they were part of Germany’s top six for a consistent five-year stint. Despite these impressive credentials, they had been gradually descending in league position and struggled to secure victories. Hence their unfortunate alias – “Neverkusen”.
Over a span of years from 1997 to 2011, Leverkusen had five near misses as Bundesliga runners-up, two losses in the German Cup, and a heart-wrenching defeat in the 2002 Champions League final against a Zinedine Zidane-led Real Madrid. More recent disappointments include a 2020 Cup final defeat to Bayern, in spite of having talent like Kai Havertz and Leon Bailey on the team.
Presently, they have donned a new pseudonym – “Neverlusen”. The team has shown an impressive streak of scoring ’90+whatever’ goals, with 12 so far this season. Guiding them from near-victories to actual success is Alonso, bringing his precise understanding of the game and space from his 17 years of experience as an unflappable midfielder for Real Sociedad, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Let’s not forget his 114 Spain caps, a World Cup, and two European Championships – it’s not the first time the term “impressive record” has been associated with Alonso.
He has always attracted people, with his clever on-field manoeuvres and immaculate passing making him a favourite. When he retired from playing in 2017, there was always something special about Alonso, and he has carried that into his management career.
Drawing parallels between him and Pep Guardiola isn’t unusual – two Spaniards, similar style. Indeed, there’s a taste of Guardiola’s characteristic structured ingenuity in the Leverkusen side. However, during the match on Thursday, viewers were reminded more of Dutch tactics with Alejandro Grimaldo, Exequiel Palacios and Granit Xhaka passing the ball around a feisty Roma, similar to Louis van Gaal’s classic Dutch triangle manoeuvre. It was clear that Wiel Coerver technique was on display whenever Jeremie Frimpong received the passes, or when Florian Wirtz came onto the pitch.
Reflecting on Ronald Koeman’s skill on the pitch, Alonso was always full of praise, especially admiring his knack for mastering the art of positioning. Alonso’s appreciation, evident from his words, could only have been birthed by someone who had an astute understanding of footballing linguistics. Fast-forward to 2024 and Alonso, full of charisma and life at 42 years old, holds the head coaching position at Bayer Leverkusen. The club, once a ambivalent entity to unaffiliated individuals, now draws attention.
His decision to uphold his current position, despite potential offers from heavyweights such as Liverpool or possibly Real Madrid, only further amplifies his magnetism. Alonso, however, has always been a man of unique perspective. Currently, he’s got his sights on Dublin.
And what of the hurling, Xabi?