Following Xabi Alonso's decision to join Chelsea, this is his story of how his coaching career has taken him from Spain to West London.
Sociedad B beginnings
Following retirement as a player at the end of the 2016/17 season, Alonso headed back to Real Madrid to coach the U14’s while completing his UEFA Elite coaching course.
After a year there, he moved into his first managerial role with Real Sociedad B in 2019, where he won promotion to the Segunda División B (second division of Spain) in his second season, the first time the club had achieved that since 1962.
2021/22 saw Sociedad B relegated back to the third tier, and Alonso left at the end of the season.
Taking up the Leverkusen role
He would have to wait until October for his next role, heading to Germany to take up the Bayer Leverkusen role, after they suffered their worst start since 1979.
It turned out to be a brilliant recovery season for Alonso, securing a sixth-place finish for Leverkusen to guarantee UEFAEuropa League football for 2023/24, and also getting to the semi-finals of the Europa League, where they were beaten 1-0 on aggregate by AS Roma, despite having 23 shots in the second leg, and allowing just one.
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The next season though was to be beyond the imaginations of anyone in Germany or in the footballing world.
The Neverlusen story
2023/24 is a season that will go down in German football folklore, and so happened to coincide with Bayer Leverkusen's 120th anniversary.
Their summer window was a sign of intent, Alex Grimaldo on a free from Benfica, Victor Boniface, and Nathan Tella being signed for fees of around €23 million. The biggest coup, though, was the signing of Granit Xhaka for €15 million from Arsenal.
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This was built around a core of young talent that included Jeremie Frimpong and the highly rated Florian Wirtz.
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One of the most remarkable stories of that season was the number of last-minute goals that they scored, a total of 18 in all competitions by the time the season came to an end.
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The club secured their first-ever Bundesliga title on April 14th 2024, with a 5-0 win over Werder Bremen, a game in which Wirtz claimed his first career hat-trick.
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Leverkusen secured the first unbeaten season in Bundesliga history by beating Augsburg 2-1 on May 18th 2024, finishing with 28 wins and 90 points.
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Leverkusen completed an invincible double by winning the DFB Pokal with a 2-1 win over 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
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The dream of an unbeaten treble was ended at the final hurdle, losing in the final of the Europa League 3-0 to Atalanta, where Ademola Lookman stole the show with a scintillating hat-trick.
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The end of history in Germany and a Madrid move.
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The following season saw Leverkusen finish 2nd, which was yet another remarkable achievement. They also lost in the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal to Arminia Bielefeld and the Round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League to domestic rivals Bayern Munich.
Alonso announced his departure from Leverkusen on May 9th 2025, and was appointed Real Madrid manager on May 25th.
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Alonso was given a contract to be manager at the Bernabéu from June 2025 until June 2028.
The new era began with Real Madrid competing in the FIFA Club World Cup, where it started with a 1-1 draw to Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal.
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After topping Group H on the final matchday, Madrid beat Juventus 1-0 and Borussia Dortmund 3-2 to reach the semi-finals of the competition. However, they were pulled apart by the defending European Champions, Paris Saint-Germain, losing 4-0.
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Madrid spent big in the summer window, with the signing of Dean Huijsen for €62.5 million from Bournemouth , Álvaro Carreras for €50 million from Benfica, Franco Mastantuono for €45 million from River Plate, and Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool for originally a free transfer, but Madrid paid €10 million to have him for the Club World Cup.
Alonso won manager of the month in LaLiga for August, but that was about as good as it got.
The biggest issues were rifts with players, the biggest of those being with Brazilian winger Vinicius Jr. The 2-1 win in El Clásico in October was the largest talking point.
Vinicius was subbed off in the 72nd minute for Rodrygo, which was a decision that he did not take a liking to, appearing to mutter that "it was better if he left" while coming off the pitch.
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The winger went even as far as promising not to renew his contract, which was due to finish in 2027, as long as Alonso was in charge of the club.
Defeat in the final of the Spanish Super Cup to Barcelona was to be the final result of Alonso's tenure, as Madrid were beaten 3-2 on January 11th 2026.
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A day later, Madrid released a statement confirming that Alonso had left by mutual consent.
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"Real Madrid C. F. wishes to announce that, by mutual agreement between the club andXabi Alonso, it has been decided to bring his time as first team coach to an end.
Xabi Alonso will always carry the affection and admiration of all Madridistas because he is aReal Madrid legend and has always represented the values of our club.Real Madrid will always be his home.
We would like to thankXabi Alonso and all his coaching staff for their hard work and dedication throughout this time, and wish them the best of luck in this new stage of their lives."
Alonso now heads to West London to join Premier League side Chelsea, the first time the Blues have had a Spanish manager since Rafa Benitez in 2013.
Speaking following his announcement on the Chelsea website, Alonso spoke of his excitement for the role.
"Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs in world football and it fills me with immense pride to become manager of this great club.
"From my conversations with the ownership group and sporting leadership, it is clear we share the same ambition. We want to build a team capable of competing consistently at the highest level and fighting for trophies.
‘There is great talent in the squad and huge potential at this football club and it will be my great honour to lead it. Now the focus is on hard work, building the right culture and winning trophies"