Xabi Alonso
knows about miracles
.
Breaking the hegemony of
Bayern Munich
(11 titles in a row) to give the first Bundesliga in its history to humble
Bayer Leverkusen
is not his first feat. Neither did the 44 unbeaten games with which this Thursday broke the mark that
Juventus
had maintained since the 2011-2012 season.
This Basque, 42 years old and only one and a half as a coach in the elite, had already experienced an epic episode, one of the most remembered in European football.
"This is the best moment of my professional life
, "
he said on May 25, 2005, without knowing that his career had many more in store for him. He must have thought or repeated that same phrase last Sunday, April 14, when his Bayer team was established in the Bundesliga, which the Bavarian giant monopolized.
🖤🎶 ALLEZ A LLEZ LEVERKUSEN ALLEZ 🎶❤️
Version @XabiAlonso 🫶#SomosBayer04 | #Winnerkusen pic.twitter.com/sX1RAic6iE
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_es) April 16, 2024
Let's review: the
Miracle of Istanbul
was the Champions League final in which
Carlo Ancelotti
's Milan beat
Rafa Benítez
's Liverpool 3-0 . One goal from
Paolo Maldini
and two from
Hernán Crespo
. Matter settled at 44 of the first half for everyone. Less for those who
never walk alone
, who in six minutes (from 54 to 60) thanks to
Steven Gerrard
,
Vladimir Smicer
and
Xabi Alonso
put things 3-3. Afterwards there was overtime, penalties, crazy celebration for England and an indelible place in the pages of history.
What did Xabi Alonso do that night?
Witnesses say that with his personality and intelligence he led the comeback, he was also the scorer of the third goal, although with suspense, since his penalty was rejected by the Brazilian goalkeeper
Dida
and it was only on the rebound that the Reds' 14th was able to convert.
Strictly speaking,
Xabi Alonso had several
“best moments
” of his playing career
. And enviable. He won another Champions League, with Real Madrid, the famous
Décima
, although he did not play in the final (4-1 against Atlético de Madrid) due to suspension. He also won a World Cup (2010) and two European Championships (2008 and 2012) with Spain and those unforgettable midfields with
Xavi
,
Sergio
Busquets
and
Andrés Iniesta
. In his national team he totaled 114 games with 16 goals between 2003 and 2014, with three World Cups and three European Championships played. He played five seasons at Liverpool, another five at Real Madrid and three at Bayern Munich.
He was already a coach when he played, several of the great coaches who directed him trusted him.
José Mourinho
, in 2019, was the first to detect his potential.
“He learned from the best. If you put it all together, he has the potential to be a very good coach. He was a top player, his positioning on the field and his knowledge of the game are very high
,” the Portuguese then said that he does not usually give praise.
Deutscher Meister 2023/24 @bayer04fussball
It feels great🏆 pic.twitter.com/7r2Vhx2xyy
— Xabi Alonso (@XabiAlonso) April 15, 2024
That 1.83 meter tall boy arrived at Liverpool from Real Sociedad at the age of 22 without knowing that he was going to play five years and 210 games in England. He wore the number 14 shirt, that of
Johan Cruyff
; no coincidence.
A definition of style, of football taste
. Although Xabi Alonso always played as a central midfielder, as a
pivot
as they say in Spain. He was a midfielder with a specialty in passing: in 2014, playing for
Bayern Munich
against Cologne, he set a new record in the Bundesliga, with 196. He was a midfielder with a goal, thanks to his good shooting from distance: in 2006, with the of Liverpool against Newcastle, he converted from his own field; and it didn't work the only time. He was a winning midfielder: we already told it.
That entire resume is completed with the coaches he had and those he made the most of, as
Mou
had anticipated .
Rafa Benítez
in Liverpool,
Mourinho
in Real Madrid,
Carlo Ancelotti
in Real Madrid and Bayern Munich,
Pep Guardiola
in Bayern, Luis Aragonés and Vicente Del Bosque in the Spanish team.
Masterclass.
Those who know him best assure that although his exceptional Bayer Leverkusen seems to be a tribute to Guardiola, Xabi Alonso mixes Pep's concepts especially with those of Mourinho and with Ancelotti's driving ability. An explosive football blender.
The German press has dubbed him
the New Guardiola
, but
Andrés Weiss, an expert journalist in the Bundesliga
prefers to point out:
"I like to think that Xabi Alonso is the coach in which Guardiola and Mourinho shake hands
."
Martí Perarnau
, author of three books about Pep, adds:
"I have the impression that he has known how to rise above the passions of football so as not to be associated exclusively with one of them. He made a great effort to extract the best from each one. He brought out from Mourinho, from Ancelotti or from Pep what seemed good to him. He had that point of distance with his coaches to create his own style
."
What about Guardiola is visible at first glance. The start with the ball from the back, the protagonism with the ball, the associations through the pass (the
"traveling together, not on the same train, but in the same car
", as
Juanma Lillo
, the intellectual spokesperson for the DT of the City), the search for the free player, the corridors in attack, the high pressing... All of this refers to the style manual of the Manchester City coach, but unlike Pep, Xabi Alonso is not obsessed with possession. In fact, his team averages between 58 percent and a little less per game. He also does not deny direct play or counterattacks. Of course: he has one of the lowest numbers of crosses into the area in the Bundesliga, a countercultural touch.
That is to say: he is more pragmatic, more Mourinho, than the Catalan
. Ancelotti tries to convey what any coach in the world wants to replicate: the management of the locker room.
Let's go to the grass. Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen, who are also in the semi-finals of the Europa League (they will face Roma) and in the final of the German Cup (they will play with FC Kaiserlautern), start with three at the bottom, in a 3-4- 1-2 that becomes 4-2-3-1 or 5-2-3 to defend. In goal, the Finn
Lukas Hradecky
. In defense, the Ivorian
Odilon Kossonou
, the German giant
Jonathan Tah
(1.95) and the Ecuadorian (former Talleres)
Piero Hincapié
.
The midfield is key: the Dutch
Jerome Frimpong
and the Spanish
Alejandro Grimaldo
are the flying full-backs and those who give width to the game,
Exequiel Palacios
(world champion with Argentina) and the Swiss
Granit Xhaka
(with three World Cups on his resume) make up the double pivot, similar to that of
Xabi Alonso-Sergio Busquets
of world champion Spain, no less.
Jonas Hofmann
and
Florian Wirtz
(the great revelation, aged 20, whose market value according to Transfermarkt rose to 120 million euros) are the offensive connection. The Nigerian
Victor Boniface
, recovered from a long injury, or the Czech
Patrick Schick
are the last link. The team defended the undefeated several times in the last minutes and in those moments of agony their very firm and defined style was seen: searching from below and with
Zen patience
for the perfect pass, gathering players in the area where there is no space, without falling into the temptation to launch desperate crosses. In those moments it seemed like a photocopy of Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva's City. There are wallet differences, of course. Most of Leverkusen's names are only now beginning to be identified, with this campaign.
After this new miracle from Xabi Alonso.