The SCARY Truth About Xabi Alonso Nobody Is Noticing

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The Scary Truth About Xabi Alonso Nobody Is Noticing

⏱ Timestamps:
01:09 Written in the Stars
02:13 Analyzing Alonso’s Tactics
06:06 Key Players under Alonso
08:13 Suitability for Liverpool
09:17 The SCARY Truth

#KickKorner #XabiAlonso #JurgenKlopp #Liverpool
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The crown for the best team in the Bundesliga no longer belongs to Bayern Munich and the holders, Bayer Leverkusen are not just sitting on the throne – they’re dominating. And it’s all because of one man, Xabi Alonso. He is changing the future of football forever with his incredible coaching style but you

Might have missed a truth about Xabi Alonso nobody else is noticing. Word on the street is that Alonso is making a comeback to Liverpool to become Jurgen Klopp’s successor. But what is he saying about these rumors? Does he want to go to Real Madrid who also wants him? More on all this later.

We’ve taken weeks making this video, so you don’t want to miss anything. As a player, he’s got a resume that reads like a best-selling novel. World Cups, Champions League trophies, and multiple League titles, you name it. Let’s face it, he was a guy with skills that made you question the laws of physics

On the field and now as a coach, his coaching style is also defying the natural. And this is what has really caught everyone’s attention. Because of this, he’s been able to transform a mid-table side into champions who are now battling head-to-head with giants. And he is slaying it.

But this is not a surprise because it has been a long time coming. In 2010, Jose Mourinho predicted that Alonso was going to become a coach. But even before Mourinho, one could tell that Alonso was heading that way. He was such an intelligent player who read the game so beautifully.

Not to mention that his father was a footballer who later became a manager as well. Xabi Alonso didn’t only play football, he was coached by the greatest coaches in football history. We’re talking Mourinho, Guardiola, Benitez, Vicente del Bosque, and Carlo Ancelotti.

He also showed a great deal of leadership as a player after captaining Real Sociedad at the tender age of 20, helping to revitalize the team. Fast forward to today, he has taken another sub-par team to greater heights but this time, as a coach.

Bayer Leverkusen, under the fascinating spell of Alonso, is shockingly 8 points clear of the mighty Bayern. With 19 victories and four draws in the Bundesliga, they are currently unbeaten in 33 matches across all competitions. That’s not luck; that’s Alonso’s magic at work. Let that sink in.

But what is it that makes his tactics so special? Alonso’s coaching career started at Real Sociedad’s B where he started to build his football philosophy. Yet, he was able to make history when he took the team to the Segunda Division for the first time since 1962.

However, the following season in 2022, he was let go after the team faced relegation again. A few months later, Alonso was given a chance by Bayer Leverkusen. He inherited a struggling team, and on this imperfect canvas, he laid down his paintbrush to finetune the team into a work of art.

After being in the relegation zone before his arrival, Bayer ended the 2022-23 season in 6th position. Today, they are at the top. His success has been credited to his new style of play which is somewhat a perfect blend of Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp’s tactics. Alonso’s tactical approach at Leverkusen is a fascinating evolution.

He made a huge shift from a 4-4-2 formation he inherited to a 3-4-2-1 formation. Though it looks like an offensive formation, the idea is to pack the midfield with a lot of bodies. This means that when they attack, it is overwhelming and when they defend, it is suffocating for the opponent.

But what sets his tactics apart is the flexibility of the 3-4-2-1 framework. When off the ball, Alonso’s team quickly adopts a 5-2-2-1 formation with every player closely attached to form a narrow block that is almost impossible to break through. His system emphasizes on dominating possession and playing through the lines, favoring a

Back three. The whole play starts with the center-backs driving forward, pulling opponents out of position, and creating central spaces for the midfielders and number 10s to drop down deep to help progress the ball up the pitch. The wing-backs play a pivotal role in this setup by stretching the pitch like wingers,

Pinning opposition full-backs, and opening up passing lanes inside for either the attacking midfielders or the strikers to be able to receive the ball with fewer players to deal with on their end. Speaking of the midfield, Alonso’s impact is most apparent here.

Being a midfielder himself, he undoubtedly has so many things to impart to his players from his wealth of knowledge. This system allows for variations, with either two defensive midfielders and a number 10 or two central midfielders flanked by two wingers.

The latter is usually the case, with Frimpong and Grimaldo having a field day at the flanks while Andrich and Xhaka hold the middle graciously. But we all know that a team’s attack is only as good as its defense, or else one could

End up like Manchester United in the 2022/2023 season who scored a total of 58 goals and conceded 43 in the Premier League alone. Bayer Leverkusen, under Alonso, has shifted from a mid-block to an aggressive pressing style also known as the gegenpressing.

This means from the very start of the opponent’s build-up, his players are on you. His formation is a compact one and in it, three players push high, wing-backs press full-backs, and center-backs defend proactively against any slags or loose ball. This strategy does not only disrupt opponents but it also positions Leverkusen closer to

Goal when winning the ball back. And this to Xabi’s team, is an advantage as they can easily capitalize and build up to earn the team goals. Xabi’s impressive system has earned him excellent form, rewarding his team with 19 wins, 4 draws, and 0 losses in his first full season in the Bundesliga.

Even more impressive, they remain unbeaten in all 33 games which is the highest for any German team in history! For Alonso, it isn’t just a change in numbers; it has also been about the transition in the way his players interpret and execute the system to produce the right results.

Under his management, Leverkusen’s playing style is proving to be a thorn in the flesh of opponents, and the integration of new players with the existing squad has been rather swift. At the beginning of his first full season, he made a proper analysis of where the weak

Areas were in his team and made the right moves for them in the transfer market. Among the players to have joined in the transfer window were Grimaldo, Nathan Tella, and Victor Boniface. Oh! let’s not forget the midfield maestro Granit Xhaka, who arrived this summer straight

From Arsenal on free agency to add steel to Bayer’s spine. Xhaka has showcased an impressive pass completion rate of 94% which has been vital in helping to connect the attack with the midfield. He has also been great defensively with a tackle success rate of 56.21%

Additionally, Jeremie Frimpong and Alex Grimaldo are players who have developed exponentially under Alonso’s formation. As explosive wingbacks, they are given freedom on the right. Their roles are to spread the defense to the touchline and move freely on the wings from box to box.

Unsurprisingly, their output has been absolutely amazing, earning them the top three spots in both assist and goal rankings for their team. But let’s not forget the brilliant Florian Wirtz. Despite his young age of 20, Wirtz is an attacking force!

He is a number 10 in the league with the most individual ball possessions with 1,662. He is number one with the most shots against the crossbar. He also has the second-most attempts on goal for Bayer.

As a 10, he is often expected to drop deep in from the attack to the midfield to receive the balls and progress it to either the false nine or the box where he can cause a threat. Another key player to Xabi’s system in the false nine position is Victor Boniface who

Has been nothing but amazing with 10 goals and 7 assists. He drops down occasionally to allow the wingers and wingbacks to flow inside after drawing out the defenders. With these players, Alonso’s team and his adopted system have been looking great so far.

The only threat to his success lies in the health of his key players. If injuries don’t become a thing, then Leverkusen will be good. However, injuries or not, the team is still scared because there’s a possibility that their favorite manager might leave them soon for Liverpool or even Madrid.

With Klopp set to leave Liverpool, his replacement might just be Alonso who was surprised to hear that he has been considered for the role. Even though Real Madrid might be a huge competition, Liverpool still seems like the better fit for him.

In any case, he said he is happy at Bayer and just wants to focus on the team: But is he even the right fit for Liverpool? Could he fill the role and huge gap that would be left by the great Jurgen Klopp? Well, the stats say yes.

If we are looking at his playing style and effective use of the wingback in his 3-4-2-1 formation, the already superb duo of Robertson and Trent-Alexander-Arnold, would not have a hard time fitting right away. His formation’s attacking output is equally as good as his defensive prowess.

One could boldly say the setup at Liverpool and player personnel is custom-made for him. But there’s still a problem. We all know what it means to transition from a small team to a big one. The expectations are always high and the fans or owners are always impatient if results are not favorable.

But can Alonso break this cycle? In the words of Philip Lahm: “Some say great players don’t make great coaches, but Alonso can prove them wrong”. Lahm said this back in November 2022 before Alonso’s recent success and he turned out to be right.

Alonso’s success at Bayer Leverkusen is striking not just for its achievement but for the speed at which it unfolded. It is scary how he has transformed a struggling side into title contenders in a short span. This simply means that Alonso can adapt and make his team do the same.

The effectiveness of Leverkusen’s play under his guidance, coupled with the team’s rapid evolution, instills a sense of fear among rival clubs. What’s truly crazy is the potential of Alonso to take his strategic brilliance to a footballing powerhouse like Liverpool who are already equipped with a richer pool of talent.

For now, all eyes are on Bayer Leverkusen as the season slowly comes to a close. Could this be the season they finally make history? I guess we’ll find out soon enough. His potential takeover at Liverpool promises an exciting project of tactical brilliance and the birth of a formidable team.

But the journey also would not be as easy and he is quite aware of this. What are your thoughts on the Spaniard?