By Saad Ahmad

Since he began his coaching career, Xabi Alonso has excelled at every step he has taken. And now, only a few years after beginning his managerial journey, he is set to take the helm at Real Madrid – considered by many to be the greatest club in football. 

This meteoric rise may seem surprising to some, but here, we will establish how the World Cup winner got his hands on the most coveted job in the footballing world. 

First of all, it would be a disservice not to start with his journey in football as a player. There are few who could do justice to this aspect of his life better than someone who worked closely with Alonso in the formative years of his playing career, as a boss, but also an invested mentor. Therefore, here are the words of Jose Mourinho: 

‘His father was a manager so he grew up similar to me, he grew up with a father player, a father manager… He was coached by [Pep] Guardiola at Bayern, by myself and [Carlo] Ancelotti at Real Madrid, and by [Rafael] Benitez at Liverpool.’ 

‘If you put all these conditions together… he has the conditions to become a very good coach.’ 

This was stated by Mourinho in 2019, a significant amount of time before Alonso started making headlines for his technical prowess. And although we can now see just how accurate Mourinho’s predictions turned out to be, how did Alonso actually take on his first coaching roles? 

Well, this journey commenced shortly after his retirement from playing. In 2018, he decided to complete his UEFA Elite coaching course, alongside notable stars such as Raul, Xavi, and Victor Valdes. Alonso’s performance and success on the course marked him apart from his peers, resulting in his former club Real Madrid rewarding him with the task of coaching their Under-14’s.  

He excelled in this role for a year, before he caught the eye of Real Sociedad. It was here that he had his first taste of managing professional, adult football, as he gained significant coaching experience whilst having to learn key skills on the job, such as managing his players’ emotional concerns and worries, as well as needing to develop strategies to help his players cope with the physicality of third-division Spanish football. 

His second season ended in Real Sociedad B being promoted to the second-division, something which stunned both supporters and the team’s owners alike. Following this, he remained in his post for a further season, which unfortunately for Alonso, ended in tragedy with his team relegated. 

This resulted in him deciding to leave his role following the end of the season. However this relegation didn’t seem to harm his own managerial reputation in any way. Rather, only a few months after being out of a job, Bayer Leverkusen, a top team in German football, announced Alonso as their new first-team coach, in October 2022. 

In Germany, Alonso’s nation of origin, he once again stunned with his performances. Despite taking over when Bayer Leverkusen were in the relegation zone, he turned the team’s fortunes around in no time, with his team qualifying for the Europa League at the end of the season. 

He continued to take Bayer Leverkusen from strength to strength in his second season. It was during this time, that his players achieved unparalleled success in German footballing history, with them breaking the record for most consecutive games unbeaten by a German team (32). This was followed by him guiding Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title in their history, with a 5-0 destruction of Werder Bremen. His prowess was also seen on the European stage, as Bayer Leverkusen achieving a new European record of consecutive unbeaten games (49).  

Now, Alonso is preparing to take over Real Madrid. What remains to be seen is whether his past experience will translate into similar success in more demanding jobs, or whether he will be unable to cope with the pressures. But for now, this remains impossible for us to predict.