Real Madrid ‘legend’ Xabi Alonso returns as new coach

MADRID – Real Madrid appointed Xabi Alonso to replace Carlo Ancelotti as coach on May 25, with the Spaniard to take over from June 1 and lead the team at the Club World Cup.

“Xabi Alonso will be the Real Madrid coach for the next three seasons, from June 1, 2025 until June 30, 2028,” said Real in a statement.

With veteran Italian coach Ancelotti taking the reins of the Brazilian national team, Real secured a deal with former midfielder Alonso, whom they have been linked with for months.

Alonso, 43, leaves German side Bayer Leverkusen at the end of the Bundesliga season after finishing second.

“Alonso is one of the biggest legends at Real Madrid and in world football,” continued Los Blancos’ statement.

He made 236 appearances for Real Madrid as a player and also won the Champions League.

Alonso will be officially presented on May 26.

The Spaniard guided Leverkusen to a league and German Cup double in the 2023-2024 campaign, with his team unbeaten in the top flight, making him a target for Europe’s top clubs.

Basque coach Alonso had an agreement with Leverkusen to allow him to depart if one of his former sides, including Real, Liverpool and Bayern Munich, wanted to hire him.

Ancelotti’s Real endured a disappointing campaign, winning the Uefa Super Cup and Fifa Intercontinental Cup but suffering Champions League quarter-final elimination by Arsenal.

Barcelona beat Real in the Spanish Super Cup and Copa del Rey finals and then reclaimed the La Liga throne from their archrivals, meaning they failed to win a major trophy.

After losing two matches in the whole of the previous campaign, this season Real slumped to 14 defeats.

Alonso was coached by Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho and Vicente del Bosque among others and is considered tactically adroit and an excellent organiser, which could be ideal for a Real side that have lacked balance.

The midfielder won two European Championships and the 2010 World Cup with Spain as he helped La Roja dominate the international game.

After retiring from playing in 2017, he coached Real Madrid and Real Sociedad at youth level before being appointed by Leverkusen in 2022.

He will replace one of the most successful managers in the club’s history, despite their struggles this season.

Ancelotti, 65, took Los Blancos to 15 trophies during two spells at the club, spanning six years.

The Italian won three Champions League trophies in Madrid, including La Decima – Madrid’s 10th – in 2014, with Alonso as part of his squad, although he was suspended for the final.

Ancelotti and Luka Modric, Real’s most successful player and the 2018 Ballon d’Or winner, bid goodbye on May 24 to an adoring crowd at the Santiago Bernabeu after a 2-0 La Liga victory over Real Sociedad.

Modric, who arrived from Tottenham Hotspur in 2012, cemented his place in the heart of Real’s midfield through his technical excellence and creativity, playing almost 600 games and winning nearly 30 trophies, including a record six Champions League titles.

While his 13-year spell at the club is not yet officially at an end, the match was his last opportunity to play in front of the Spanish fans who have cheered him on through the years.

The Croatian midfielder will sign off after Real’s Club World Cup campaign, which begins in June, but the tournament will be held entirely in the United States.

“The moment I never wanted to come has arrived, but it has been a long but wonderful journey. First I wanted to thank the club, the president Florentino Perez,” Modric said in an emotional speech.

“I wanted to thank all the coaches during all these years, the teammates who accompanied me and the people who helped me. Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart. To my family as well. We have won a lot, we have had wonderful moments.”

While Real’s fans could still see Modric win another trophy, Ancelotti took his final bow.

“I’m very happy, proud – it has been an extraordinary period,” he said.

“Real Madrid is a home, a family. It has been like that for the last six years. I have had extraordinary players and Madrid will continue to have extraordinary players. It is the day with the highest emotion.” REUTERS, AFP