Xabi Alonso has worn the shirt for Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, and knows all about the pressure this entails. Now the Spanish legend also gets to feel the extreme pressure as a coach – for the first time.
In recent weeks, reports from the Spanish media have seeped out about dissatisfaction among the players, where there are only five players who are happy with the coach. When Real Madrid have also lost their last three games, Alonso is under a lot of pressure. As Bayer Leverkusen coach, the Spaniard came in as a savior and lifted the club to the historic Bundesliga title, at Real Madrid Alonso comes to a table covered by the legend Carlo Ancelotti.
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“Working for Real Madrid is – as I expected – a very demanding job. In some moments you have to be concentrated, and in others you have to react quickly, but I like the whole package. We are not satisfied with the last games. We have the necessary self-criticism, but we also look at where we are in La Liga and the Champions League. Overall, I’m happy,” Alonso said at Tuesday’s press conference.
At Bayer Leverkusen, Alonso can see Kasper Hjulmand has got his feet wet at the club after a chaotic few months under Erik ten Hag. A 0-2 win against Manchester City tasted good.
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