As of: January 31, 2024, 11:22 p.m
By: Melanie Gottschalk
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Xabi Alonso was considered a crowd favorite during his playing days at FC Bayern.
After his career he was apparently supposed to stay at the club, but decided against it.
Munich – Xabi Alonso is currently enjoying considerable success as coach of Bayer Leverkusen.
His team is currently at the top of the Bundesliga table, the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup are coming up and in the Europa League they went straight into the round of 16 as undefeated first in the table.
Particularly bitter for FC Bayern: After the end of his career, the German record champions had hoped for a commitment, but Alonso decided to take a different path.
FC Bayern knocked on Xabi Alonso's door
Because like Michael Reschke at Sky
revealed that FC Bayern wanted to keep the now 42-year-old after his career ended.
“He had an amazing standing with Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Uli Hoeneß.
Back then I had a discussion with Rummenigge and Hoeneß.
“We even seriously considered asking relatively early on whether he could imagine working as a sports director at Bayern Munich,” said the Munich team’s former technical director.
According to his own statement, Reschke then went out to dinner with him and “mentioned the topic very gently.” But Alonso had other plans: “He was already very focused on a coaching career back then.
And he wanted to take a year off after his time as an active player,” Reschke told Sky
.
The 42-year-old ended his career at FC Bayern in the summer of 2017.
Even during his active career, Xabi Alonso enjoyed a high reputation at FC Bayern.
© Robin Rudel/imago
FC Bayern had to reschedule after Alonso's cancellation
At that time, FC Bayern had neither a sports director nor a sports director.
So Alonso could have had the job straight away.
But since he decided on a coaching career, the Munich team had to replan.
In August 2017, Hasan Salihamidzic was introduced as the new sports director, and later became sports director.
The era of the former professional of the German record champions ended ingloriously in the summer of 2023.
A few minutes after winning the last-minute championship, the dismissal of Salihamidzic and Oliver Kahn was announced.
(msb)