Xabi Alonso – Head coach
Xabi Alonso was appointed to the position of head coach at Bayer 04 Leverkusen in October 2022. The Spaniard had performed the same function for his homeland club of Real Sociedad in the Basque city of San Sebastian with the second team. Alonso took his first steps in coaching with the youth teams at Real Madrid where he met his assistant coach Sebastian Parrilla.
Alonso won a large number of trophies as a player. In 2004 he moved from northern Spain to to play for Liverpool for five years and that was followed by five years at Real Madrid. Alonso spent the last three years of his playing career at Bayern Munich. The world class midfielder has won the World Cup once, the European Championships twice, two Champions League titles as well as numerous national titles.
Date of birth: 25.11.1981
At club since: 10/2022
Previous coaching positions: Real Madrid (Spain), Real Sociedad (Spain)
News
Alonso ahead of #FCKB04: “Hunger and desire even greater after Wednesday”
Bayer 04 face Kaiserslautern in the 2023/24 DFB Pokal final at 8pm CEST on Saturday. On the eve of the big game, the two head coaches and captains from both clubs spoke at the pre-match press conference from the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
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Alonso ahead of #ATAB04: 'Huge excitement for tomorrow'
Final in Dublin: the Werkself contest the final of the UEFA Europa League against Atalanta on Wednesday 22 May (kick-off 21:00 CEST), with the second trophy of the season in their sights. Head coach Xabi Alonso and Werkself players Jonathan Tah and Granit Xhaka are looking ahead to the showdown at the Dublin Arena with great anticipation. At the press conference, Alonso discussed his development as a coach among other things, while Xhaka spoke about topics including experience of previous finals.
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Alonso ahead of #B04FCA: Augsburg game ‘also a sort of final’
It will be a historic and very special moment in front of a full house at the BayArena when the Werkself are presented with the first Meisterschale in the club’s history after the final whistle on the last Bundesliga matchday of the season against FC Augsburg. The fixture is on Saturday, 18 May (kick-off: 15.30 CEST/live on Sky and on Werkself Radio). Ahead of the clash with tenth-placed FCA, head coach Xabi Alonso talked about the trophy presentation as well as the possibility of being the first team to go a whole season unbeaten in the Bundesliga.
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Alonso ahead of EL final: Atalanta ‘currently one of the toughest opponents in Europe’
A week ahead of the big showdown in Dublin, the focus at Bayer 04 on Wednesday was the final in the UEFA Europa League against Atalanta (22 May, 21.00 CEST). While the Werkself players negotiated numerous photo and interview slots as part of the UEFA Media Open Day, head coach Xabi Alonso fielded questions from journalists at a press conference on the final against the top Italian club.
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Alonso ahead of #B04ASR: “Expecting a top spectacle with a great atmosphere”
Bayer 04 have the final of the UEFA Europa League firmly in their sights as they prepare to host Roma at a sold-out BayArena for the semi-final second leg on Thursday (kick-off: 9pm CEST). The Werkself have a 2-0 lead from last week’s first leg in Rome and are well placed to reach a first European final in over 20 years. Ahead of the return fixture, head coach Xabi Alonso and defender Edmond Tapsoba spoke at the club’s press conference on Wednesday and gave a warning about a motivated opponent.
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