Xabi Alonso’s appointment by Bayer Leverkusen was popular. Former team-mate Philipp Lahm insisted that he had every quality needed to succeed. Even old coaches Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho were united in their conviction about his capabilities.
But others wondered whether it was worth the gamble. A coach with no top-flight experience taking over a team still in the Champions League but only one place off the bottom of the Bundesliga. A first relegation was a real fear for Leverkusen.
A mixed start only added to the doubters outside the club but Alonso went on to lead Leverkusen to five league wins in a row either side of the World Cup. Beat Ferencvaros over two legs and they will be into the quarter-finals of the Europa League, too.
For Simon Rolfes, the club’s long-time midfielder turned sporting director, a decision that had seemed optimistic is now being seen as imaginative. Speaking to him in an office at the BayArena, he insists that he had to trust his instincts when it came to Alonso.
“It is true that Xabi did not have the experience as a head coach at this level and also in this situation,” Rolfes tells Sky Sports. “But, for me, it is always important to consider the quality of the head coach and I just knew that he had the quality to improve the team.
“Maybe it would have been different if there were three games left of the season. That would have been a different situation because you do not have any time. But it was only eight games into the season. With the World Cup break, we had time to improve.”
Improvement was certainly needed. Despite finishing third under Swiss coach Gerardo Seoane last season, Leverkusen had endured their worst start to a season since the club had been first promoted to the Bundesliga in 1979. Relationships had disintegrated.
“The starting point was a team without trust, players without trust,” acknowledges Rolfes. “It was a difficult situation, a really difficult situation for Xabi. But I was totally convinced that he would improve the quality of the players and the quality of the team.”
It was a hunch, really. Alonso has been a world-class player, a Champions League winner and a World Cup winner. He had played under the greatest managers of his era. But his senior coaching experience was limited to a spell with Real Sociedad’s reserves.
“You could analyse the style of play there but not with a lot of data,” admits Rolfes. “It is different, for sure. But it was not a problem that he had no experience. After all, nobody has any experience at the start. In the end, it is all about the person.
“I had good information because he played with guys I know. He was always consistent as a player and a person. He is a big thinker. Always concentrated, always thinking about how we can improve and solve situations. That was obvious. He understands the game.”
The hope was that his time at Bayern Munich would help him to adapt. Rolfes talks of “a German mentality” to Alonso. While the fact that his only experience had come with young players was seen as a positive. “There is no other choice for our head coach,” he adds.
“Our playing style, that is our DNA. Very offensive, very technical. You see it in our youth teams. We have the technical guys and try to give them more time to develop. That is strongly in the roots here – to believe in young players and give them time.
“We always have young squads so we need to have a head coach who can develop a team but also develop players individually in terms of their positions, behaviours and principles. That is a big strength of Xabi. And the first team is also very international too.”
Sunday 12th March 4:20pm
Kick off 4:30pm
Making an impression with the players
Callum Hudson-Odoi is one of those young internationals. On loan from Chelsea, he was a four-year-old boy when Alonso’s goal for Liverpool in the 2005 Champions League final against AC Milan helped to complete the comeback of all comebacks.
“I think it is massive for the club to have someone who has won it all when he was playing football. It is big,” Hudson-Odoi tells Sky Sports. And he can still play. “He has still got a bit about him, trust me. In training, you see him do a bit. I think he still could.”
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Alonso made a swift impression. “When he first came, I think you could see straightaway in the first game how he wanted to play and how he wanted to push the boys and everything. He is a very good person off the pitch and a very good manager as well.
“He wants to play with energy and intensity. As an attacker, he just tells me to always be a problem, make sure you are causing problems for the defence. Whether it is running in behind or coming to feet, whether it is shooting or whatever, just always be a threat. It is nice to have that push, to know that he has faith in you to do that.
“There are times when he will shout just to get his point across or you can see on the pitch that he is demonstrating what he wants us to do. It just shows the passion that he has and he is determined to get his point across and help the team.”
Alonso gives England international Callum Hudson-Odoi instructions
Finding a style of play at Leverkusen
Rediscovering the right style of play for Leverkusen has been a challenge. As one might expect of a player who enjoyed success with Spain and under Guardiola at Bayern, Alonso’s instinct is to want the ball. His side rank fifth for possession in the Bundesliga.
But finding the patterns can be elusive in a league noted for its transitions and a group of players whose most obvious weapon is their pace. Though Florian Wirtz favours the intricate, Jeremie Frimpong and Moussa Diaby prefer to have space to run into.
“We have a lot of offensive power in the squad and we want to get back to that,” says Rolfes. “But you always have to see that style of play in context. If you are in the relegation positions and our players are not used to being there, that impacts your psychology.
“You have to play in another way, be compact. These are fundamentals. You can build from that. We have fast players so if we are compact and work hard then we can beat teams on transition. But for sure we want to build the house again. That is a process.”
Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen career began with a 4-0 win over Schalke
Alonso is the man tasked with the rebuild. It will take time but only the top four in the Bundesliga have won more games in the competition since his arrival and thanks to their come-from-behind win over Monaco, their European adventure continues.
Losing by 3-2 twice in four days last month shows there is work still to do, but when it has clicked it has clicked. That opening 4-0 win over Schalke. The 5-0 demolition of Union Berlin that sparked that five-game winning streak. Optimism remains.
Indeed, Rolfes is even more sure now than when he brought him in.
“His impact is not a surprise. But it is similar to with players, you make decisions but you never know. With players, at least you see them play. As a head coach, you always have to analyse events on the pitch and then draw conclusions back to the coach.”
So, what has he seen on the pitch?
“Some patterns in games. You can see that it is not just about the quality of the players, it has been trained. From those pieces, you create an image of the coach. Sometimes that is more difficult than with players, but in the end you see if the image is right.
“With Xabi, it is clear.”
Sunday 5th March 2:30pm
Kick off 2:30pm
Vindication, then, but an awareness that this is just the start. Rolfes is encouraged that the team “would be in the middle of everything since Xabi came” but ambitions for Leverkusen extend beyond that with the help of a coach tipped for bigger things.
“We want to get as far as possible in the Europa League. In the Bundesliga, seventh place will be the first European place and we are behind. That bad start is done. You can see that in the table. But we have to focus on the process. We have to go step by step.
“It has been a good first step. We will try to build on that.”
Watch Bayer Leverkusen vs Hertha Berlin live on Sky Sports Football this Sunday; kick-off 2.30pm
