Topic: Xabi Alonso

[PhaseOfPlay]

I’m not sure that’s true. If I remember right, Kenny brought in Steve Clarke as first team coach and he handled training sessions, didn’t he? A great manager doesn’t have to be a great coach, and vice versa.

Literally the first sentence in my post

Kenny didn't coach though. He took care of man-management and transfers. At Liverpool he let Evans and Moran do their thing. At Blackburn he brought in Ray Harford. On his return to Liverpool, he brought in Steve Clarke.

[Severely]

Literally the first sentence in my post

Just goes to show that my memory is indeed questionable 

[Carlos Eunuch Alberto]

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/11298759/xabi-alonso-prosecutors-seek-five-year-jail-term-for-alleged-tax-fraud
Five Year jail term for alleged tax fraud

[sms1986]

Wouldn't be surprised, if he is found guilty, that he ends up with a fine and/or a suspended sentence like a few others in his position have been given.

[classycarra]

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/11298759/xabi-alonso-prosecutors-seek-five-year-jail-term-for-alleged-tax-fraud
Five Year jail term for alleged tax fraud

Shouldn't be a shock to anyone who listened when he was still here. He aired his frustration with the high levels of tax he was paying in the UK.

[Dench57]

What is it with players in Spain dodging tax?

[killer-heels]

Shouldn't be a shock to anyone who listened when he was still here. He aired his frustration with the high levels of tax he was paying in the UK.

To think, his articles of time in Spain painted a picture of a bit of a socialist.

[BER]

What is it with players in Spain getting caught dodging tax?

fixed that for you.

[Dench57]

fixed that for you.

well yeah, also wondering if their authorities are just better at catching it

[Sudden Death Draft Loser]

well yeah, also wondering if their authorities are just better at catching it

or more interested in catching it

[hide5seek]

Shouldn't be a shock to anyone who listened when he was still here. He aired his frustration with the high levels of tax he was paying in the UK.

Yep, greedy fucker.

[zabadoh]

Unless Xabi was studying to be a tax accountant himself, he was probably listening to the advice of some accountant on where to put his money to dodge taxes.  The same as Messi, Messi's father, CRonaldo, and whoever else got caught doing whatever they were doing.

Supposed tax havens in Belize, so this article says about Messi, who just paid a fine to get out of the jail sentence.  http://www.espn.com/soccer/barcelona/story/3147554/barcelonas-lionel-messi-to-pay-fine-to-avoid-21-month-prison-sentence-for-tax-fraud

[RedSince86]

Xabi Alonso Masterclass video.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/8OcXUJ2M7gA&amp;ab_channel=TheCoaches%27Voice" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/8OcXUJ2M7gA&amp;ab_channel=TheCoaches%27Voice</a>

[BarryCrocker]

Typically, heading back to where it all started for him. What a legend.

Xabi Alonso leaves Real Madrid to coach Real Sociedad's B team

Real Sociedad have reached an agreement with Xabi Alonso that will see their former midfielder coach the club's B team, known as Sanse.

The Spaniard will take charge of La Real's youth team in the Segunda B - the third tier of Spanish football.

As a result, Alonso will leave his role with the Infantil A side at Real Madrid to return home to the Basque Country.

Alonso started his playing career with Real Sociedad, making his debut against Logrones in 1999 before going on to make 124 appearances for the club.

He was part of the Real Sociedad team that finished second in LaLiga in the 2002/03 campaign, finishing just two points behind champions Barcelona.

Since leaving San Sebastian, Alonso has won a World Cup, two European Championships, two Champions League titles and four domestic titles in Spain and Germany.

https://www.marca.com/en/football/spanish-football/2019/06/01/5cf260ca268e3edd048b45b2.html

[sinnermichael]

Back where it all began.

Appointed manager of Real Sociedad B.

[sms1986]

Good luck Xabi!

[Barneylfc∗]

Good luck to him. Learn the ropes, then take over from Jurgen in a few years.

[rafathegaffa83]

Good luck to him

[ChaChaMooMoo]

Xabi Alonso BBC interview: On becoming a coach, Liverpool, Guardiola, Zidane and Bale
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/49440529

World Cup winner, two-time Champions League winner and Liverpool legend Xabi Alonso will make his managerial debut on Saturday when he leads Real Sociedad B against Burgos in Segunda Division B, the third tier of Spanish football.

In a wide-ranging interview with BBC World Service, Alonso talks about his incredible playing career and why he has returned to where it all started to begin his coaching career.

Why start your managerial career at Real Sociedad?

"It's my roots. I was born 15 minutes from here - I live close by so all my childhood has been around Real Sociedad. My father was a player, later he was manager so I always have had a very strong link to the club.

"I used to go to the stadium but later I was lucky enough to play for the first team and that was a dream come true at that moment. Being back here after so many years, almost 15 years, many memories are coming back to me. The surroundings, the facilities are fantastic and I'm really happy to be back.

"I was here for four years and to be able to fight for the league title (in 2002-03 they finished second in La Liga, two points behind Real Madrid) with this club was like almost winning the World Cup or the Champions League with a top club. It was an amazing season, we were able to fight until the end. The atmosphere that year in the city and surrounding areas was unbelievable. We touched it but didn't grab it strong enough to hold it.

"It was always on my mind to come back. I didn't know if it would be as a player or as a coach but I wanted to come back to San Sebastian to live and be part of the club. The club is doing a great job with the youth teams and really support the young players to become professionals and to feed the first team with the players, to develop, to improve them to be ready for the first team.

"To be part of that process was a big challenge, a big part of the formation as a coach and so many players are reaching the first team because they're doing a great job with the young teams."

Learning from playing under Mourinho, Guardiola, Ancelotti and Benitez

"Of course I have taken a lot from all of them. I've been lucky enough to experience great clubs, with great players, great team-mates and great managers. I've always tried to be close to them, to understand how and why they make decisions. You learn from that but you need to build your own personality - it's not a copy and paste thing this manager's job. You need to build your own ideas and believe in them to be able to transmit that idea and that's what I'm trying to do.

"Occasionally I call them [his former managers]. I try to keep in touch with some of them that I have a good relationship with. That's the good thing that you have after 18 years playing football, I have been lucky to have contact with John Toshack, with Jose Mourinho, with Pep Guardiola, with Vicente Del Bosque.

"Pep is so special. As a manager he understands, reads the football and the micro football, the little things - why things happen and what the team needs to do to control or create danger. His [Manchester City] team has been so stable and able to control all the games, and to do that in the Premier League is really difficult. That's part of his knowledge of the game and his passion. He's always trying to encourage the team and to transmit that passion. All that knowledge without heart and without passion is not possible. That mix is what makes him so brilliant.

"It's early stages for me in terms of my philosophy but my idea is not so far from what I was as a player. I was a midfielder, I liked to control the game, to understand the game and that's what I'm trying to do. I rely on the players but I am trying for them to have that encouragement to understand the game and read what's going on in the game. That's my job.

"Time will tell what will happen with my managerial career. I am still enjoying being back home, being here, and I just want to focus on here right now."

Will he manage Liverpool one day?

"Well at the moment they have an absolutely fantastic manager and we all as Liverpool fans are thrilled with Jurgen [Klopp], with what he's doing. You could feel he was the man because of the way he embraced the Liverpool culture, the way he connected with the fans - you could see that he could make a great job. Even the best expectations he has fulfilled. He's the man at the moment.

"Watching the team lifting the Champions League and watching the fans enjoy it as much as we did in 2005, it brought back a lot of memories. We [some of the 2005 team] were in the stadium, old team-mates gathering together again, Stevie [Gerrard], Jerzy [Dudek], Sami [Hyypia], we were together celebrating what they have achieved this year.

"It was really emotional. You know how special Liverpool is, once a red always a red and that's not a slogan, that's not a logo - it's real and we share that belonging.

"Our generation that have been playing in the Champions League for many years, we're almost taking a step back and taking steps into management. It's part of the cycle of football but for me it's great to follow Stevie, to follow Mikel [Arteta], to follow Frank Lampard - what he's doing and so many young managers that are already there."

How will the Premier League go this season?

"I support Mikel and Pep a lot but my feelings are not shared at the moment. I am a Liverpool fan.

"Last season it was phenomenal, the race that both teams had. What City did, what Liverpool did, it's going to be tough to repeat but they have the project that is stable, they know what they want but the Premier League is tough. It's still early days, but why not?

"Jordan Henderson has become a figure in the changing room. I think he's so respected, so important for his team-mates - that's the sense I get from watching in the stands. For the way they play it's very important, the energy he has.

"He's able to take that step forwards, not backwards to make that pressure a bit higher. The way he connects with the three players up front, they play very direct and the way Liverpool is playing is the Jurgen way - the way they played at Dortmund with him and the way they play at Liverpool now.

His thoughts on Zinedine Zidane's return to Real Madrid and whether Gareth Bale will stay at the club

"Zinedine has done great. They have a different project at Real Madrid now after last season, they want to have a fresh start but it's always so demanding, expectations are as high as possible and we will see but it's a great team.

"You have to be there to be able to explain something like that [Gareth Bale] and I am not there so I can't have a real good opinion on it.

"But Gareth is a top professional, whatever happens, whatever he's been told. He's been training, performing, he's been ready and he's shown that in the first game.

"He was quite integrated in his first year, he was able to adapt and we won the Champions League and the Cup title [Copa del Rey]. I was one year with him but I could see that he was doing well."

[Clayton Bigsby]

He'd have to win titles in La Liga to get a sniff of the Liverpool job. Why do they ask these ex-players this question as though it is a small job.

[Clayton Bigsby]

On football focus now

[jlb]

 Borussia M'Gladbach manager next season

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/mar/22/xabi-alonso-borussia-monchengladbach-manager-june

[El Lobo]

Ooooh.

The race for 'who we dont want to be next Liverpool manager' takes an interesting turn

[Dim Glas]

Ooooh.

The race for 'who we dont want to be next Liverpool manager' takes an interesting turn

xabi will go to the top of the list of ‘who we do want’ 

But yeah, that whole thing is boring, why are people obsessed with it? Every tweet I read today about Xabi and Gladbach has tedious Twitter Liverpool fans harping on about that.  It’s the same with transfers, people are obsessed, and can’t wait to sell off half the team to sign new players.

[jillcwhomever]

Wow, this surprises me. I wish him the best of luck though.

[bird_lfc]

He's gonna be great I think. Best of luck to him

[farawayred]

I wish him best of luck as well. People seem to know who will become a good manager, but people learn on the job. I don't know if Xabi or Stevie will ever reach the very top levels, but I can't rule them out. Time will tell. Good luck, Xabi!

[Clint Eastwood]

I have a feeling he’s gonna be a success.

[WhereAngelsPlay]

Ooooh.

The race for 'who we dont want to be next Liverpool manager' takes an interesting turn

Xabi takes the lead because he doesn't have to prove himself at another PL Club before coming to us.

[Stockholm Syndrome]

To be fair if we are judging Alonso's futute career trajectory on places he has been a great player/legend at, then he has just as much a claim for the theoretical future Real Madrid and Bayern Munich job 

Or we could just hope he is a great success at Monchengladbach, which I belive he will be

[naYoRHa2b]

Always saw the game at a different level from those around him never mind played it at a different level. Think he'll do a great job given time.

[No666]

Staying as Real Sociedad B manager.

[Fordy]

Staying as Real Sociedad B manager.

Waiting for the main job there then or will join a club he can win things with.

[A-Bomb]

Always had a real soft spot for Xabi.

I remember watching him in a pre-season game at Crewe, he strolled around the pitch pinging balls about like it was a kick about - a phenomenally talented player, movement into space to be available to receive a pass and move it on, reading of the pitch in front of him - the technical ability to execute any pass. A very clever and talented footballer. Always suspected he'd make a good coach, if not a manager.

[daggerdoo]

I'm not one for watching much other footy other than us, especially nowadays, but give me a game where Xabi is playing and I would be glued to the telly. Only watching Xabi, mind you.

[oojason]

Xabi confirmed as the new manager of Bayer Leverkusen:-

https://twitter.com/bayer04fussball/status/1577701989529620483

www.theguardian.com/football/2022/oct/05/xabi-alonso-lands-bayer-leverkusen-manager-role-after-seoane-sacking


Good luck to him Leverkusen are currently 17th (of 18 teams) in the Bundesliga.

[stewy17]

Bit of a mad one but fair play.

Actually, just seen they're in Champions League so an interesting start for him...

[Dim Glas]

Leverkusen have got easily the 4th best squad in Bundesliga. Although their best player is out injured.

Still, much will be expected of Alonso, and they won’t be overly patient!

[tubby]

Very interested to see how he gets on.  How long is his contract, and does it line up with the end of Klopp's one here?

[RyanBabel19]

Hope he does brilliantly, good luck Xabi

Wheneve i’ve heard him speak he seems to have a great view of the game and what a classy player, i’d love to see him have a glowing career as a manager