Ahead of Alonso’s first season in charge of Real Madrid we speak to some of those he coached at Real Sociedad B
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n 19 August Real Madrid start their new La Liga campaign at home against Osasuna with Xabi Alonso in charge for his first league game. That would have seemed unthinkable only three years ago when he had just taken over at Bayer Leverkusen.
He admitted thinking: “What am I doing here? … Why did we hire this guy from Real Sociedad B?” but the Bundesliga side knew what they were doing. Within two years he had taken them to a historic double as well as the Europa League final. The 2023-24 league title was secured by going undefeated. Last season they finished second behind Bayern Munich – no mean feat – and on 25 May he was confirmed as Carlo Ancelotti’s replacement as manager for Los Blancos.
After a Club World Cup ending in a 4-0 semi-final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain the 43-year-old faces arguably the biggest challenge of his career. “I was surprised by what he did at Leverkusen,” says Gaizka Ayesa, who played under Alonso for Real Sociedad B from 2020 to 2022. “I knew what kind of coach he was and what he could do but to go so long without losing … I think even he was surprised.”
