Xabi Alonso’s arrival in the Bundesliga has made huge waves, seizing the attention of German football enthusiasts. Alonso’s association with the league predominantly revolved around his later years as a midfielder at Bayern Munich, a stint that left a lasting imprint. His experience as a two-time UEFA Champions League winner with Liverpool and Real Madrid preceded his spell in Munich, where he featured in 117 games for the all-time European champions between 2014 and 2017 before hanging up his boots.
Alonso’s transition from player to coach sparked intrigue, with Bundesliga clubs such as Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen tracking his progress while he took his first managerial steps, overseeing Real Sociedad‘s reserve team for three seasons.
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When Leverkusen came calling in the autumn of 2022, it was during a tumultuous period for the club, as a floundering start to the 2022-23 campaign led to the exit of head coach Gerardo Seoane. Recent years have highlighted the stark difference between successful footballers and their prowess as coaches. However, Alonso possesses that innate gift that transcends from the pitch into the dugout.
After revitalising the team following his arrival roughly 14 months ago, Alonso went on to transforming them into a serious contender for Bayern Munich’s throne. With 12 match days played, Leverkusen are currently two points ahead of Alonso’s former club. The two teams played to a 2-2 draw in mid-September and seemed too close to separate. That game has been the only time this year that Leverkusen have dropped points in the Bundesliga, as they have won the other 11 games, only conceding 10 goals so far.
It’s fair to suggest that much of their current position is down to the enigmatic man walking the sideline, but how far can this team — and Alonso — go?
Alonso has naturally benefited from the fact that several of Leverkusen’s signings, most notably Victor Boniface, Granit Xhaka, Jonas Hofmann, and Álex Grimaldo, acclimatised to the club and Alonso’s system effortlessly, becoming pillars of the Basque’s starting XI. “To prepare for this year, we started thinking about these strategic players in the strategic positions, who could make us and where we could be better,” Alonso said during a recent media roundtable.
What’s striking about the way Leverkusen play the vast majority of their games is that it is reminiscent of how Alonso acted as a midfield conductor during this heyday. Bayer are usually under control of the ball and the tempo of the game, while methodically progressing up the field.
Their build-up play can be compared to an accordion as they usually pass the ball a couple of yards forward, making the opponents backtrack to cover the space behind the receiver before the ball is played back to Xhaka or Exequiel Palacios, the two centre midfielders, or one of the three centre-backs. That way, Leverkusen keep relatively safe control of the ball and still push the opponents back to the point where Xhaka and his teammates can enter the final third and have the other team in a state of reactiveness.
“Passing quality gives us a lot of control, especially in the first structure, the defenders with the midfielders,” Alonso explained. “But after that, we need a change of tempo. We need to be right there behind the midfielders.”
“And then different things need to happen. The talent needs to arise. And those things that you can’t train that much, that are the natural talent of your players. But until there, we try to give this control, pass movement, and to know where not to go too early, but to go in the right moment in those positions,” Alonso added.
Once in the final third, Leverkusen are usually not simply crossing the ball through the air into the penalty area, even though Boniface, their new centre-forward who was signed for a transfer fee of €20.5 million from Belgian side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise and has essentially replaced the talented, yet injury prone Patrik Schick, can be dangerous in aerials. Leverkusen may complete the most passes into the final third among all 18 Bundesliga teams, 48.5 per game, but they only play a little less than 13 crosses over 90 minutes, per FBref.com.
What Alonso’s players prefer to do when they enter the final third is to penetrate the dangerous zones creatively. With Florian Wirtz, Bayer possess one of the most talented attacking midfielders in Europe, whose greatest strength is to receive and keep the ball between the lines and assist his teammates through tight pockets.
“I was encouraged to have my own criteria on the pitch, to take my own decisions,” Alonso said. “That’s something that I really push, and I want to invite my players that they have their own decision-making. It’s not about being robots. It’s not about ‘we always have to do this, and if you don’t do this, you are going to be on the bench.'”
