How Xabi Alonso won Bayer Leverkusen a trophy after 120 years

Xabi Alonso’s reputation as a football player is undoubtedly distinguished. However, his coaching abilities, while not as widely recognised, are just as impressive.

When snapped up by Bayer Leverkusen some eighteen months ago, the Spaniard had the onerous task of lifting a relegation-battling team to, at most, survival in the league. But little was known that the former Real Madrid midfield maestro had more up his sleeves as he went ahead to lead Leverkusen to a sixth place finish and a Europa League semi-final spot.

From thereon, you just know there was no stopping Alonso and his team, and as proved in his second season upstaged Bayern Munich’s 11-year reign of the Bundesliga by guiding a ‘Neverkusen’ side – as dubbed for their ill-luck over the years – to their first ever league trophy.

Not many gave him the chance to pull off such feat, especially in an unbeaten reputation with five matches still left to play, but Alonso combining some finest managerial factors restored century-old glory to the streets of Leverkusen.

Winning Mentality

Having had a successful career winning everything a player would aspire to win, plus being coached by some of the greatest managers in the world including Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Rafa Benitez, Carlo Ancelloti to mention just four, it can’t be far-fetched that the winning mentality of these gaffers would rub off on Alonso as evident in his Bundesliga title run.

“The first lesson that I learned from them is that the players need to follow you, they need to believe in what they are doing, they need to know that they are improving with you coaching, with your help. “We want to play modern football. That means: intensity with and without the ball, being more active than passive and with a strong winning mentality. Alonso told Diario AS.

Key Squad Changes

Alonso implemented significant changes to the squad inherited from Gerardo Seoane. Last summer, he brought in Granit Xhaka from Arsenal, along with veteran winger Jonas Hoffman, a shrewd free transfer from Borussia Monchengladbach, and Alex Grimaldo, a seasoned winner from Benfica with seven trophy-laden seasons under his belt. Recognising the team’s need for a prolific No.9, Victor Boniface was brought in from Union Saint-Gilloise.

Despite Leverkusen’s substantial €90 million (£77m/$97m) expenditure on new players, their net loss was a modest €20m (£17m/$21m), primarily due to the lucrative sale of their top player, Moussa Diaby, to Aston Villa, which accounted for nearly two-thirds of their summer spending.

Remarkably, nearly every new signing proved to be a success, further highlighting Alonso’s astute management and recruitment abilities.

Defensive improvements

A crucial factor in Leverkusen’s swift ascent is their remarkable transformation in defense. When Alonso took over from Gerardo, he inherited a vulnerable backline that was conceding an average of two goals per game. However, his decision to switch to a three-man defense proved to be a stroke of genius. This tactical adjustment revitalized the career of Jonathan Tah, who has since earned a recall to the Germany squad, while also elevating the performances of Edmond Tapsoba, Odilon Kossounou, and Piero Hincapie to new heights.

As a result, Leverkusen currently boasts the tightest defense in Germany. They have conceded just 19 goals so far this season, a remarkable 17 fewer than second-placed Bayern Munich. Jonathan Tah attributes this impressive transformation entirely to Alonso’s influence and tactic