When speculation about Chelsea being interested in Xabi Alonso first broke, a good portion of the fanbase believed that the club would not be able to convince the Spaniard. For good reason as well. The Blues had struggled for the previous four seasons since the BlueCo takeover. Mauricio Pochettino had decided to walk away after just one season while Enzo Maresca quit in the middle of the ongoing campaign, less than six months after winning the Club World Cup.
The belief was that no top manager would want to work under this BlueCo model. So, it came as a bit of a surprise when Chelsea were not only able to convince Alonso but also got a deal over the line despite it looking like the Liverpool job could potentially open up.
So, what did Alonso see in the Chelsea job that the fans did not? Well, the former Real Madrid boss has explained it himself while speaking to the media for the first time since being appointed the Blues’ manager.
Alonso said while talking to El Chiringuito TV (via Chelsea Dodgers):
“No, I was always open to it, and, well, it’s a beautiful project.”
BlueCo succeeded in convincing Alonso about their ‘project’
The word ‘project’ has been repeated time and again whenever anybody joins the club. But surely, the vision is not being represented on the pitch.
The results do not reflect a ‘beautiful project’, that is for sure. Of course, there are signs that BlueCo are now looking to ring in the changes. The appointment of Alonso might be the first sign of that.
In the past, they probably would not have made this appointment. Do not forget, the club were believed to have held talks with the likes of Luis Enrique and Julian Nagelsmann in previous years as well, but went with different managers instead. Back then, sticking to their vision was probably seen as more important. But the flaws in that have become quite evident over the past four seasons. The need for change appears to be obvious, even to BlueCo.
Can Alonso turn things around for Chelsea?
There is no doubt that tactically, Alonso is a fantastic manager. After all, he joined a relegation-contending Bayer Leverkusen side in the middle of a campaign and turned them into the first Invincible Bundesliga champions in history by the following season while mostly working with what was available to him.
That just goes to show Alonso’s ability to identify the strengths of a squad and then get the best out of them. Fans will be hoping that he is able to do the same with Chelsea, because there is no lack of talent in this team.
It has been suggested that Alonso will have a significant say on transfer matters this summer. And perhaps that is what the club need right now, not a number of people looking over data and making decisions based on them.
Sourav Mahanty
Sourav Mahanty has covered teams like Chelsea, Celtic, Real Madrid, Manchester United, PSG and more over a career that has now lasted a decade. His work has been featured on Sports Illustrated, Athlon Sports, SB Nation, FanSided, The Sportster and aggregated through Bleacher Report and NewsNow. Outside of football, he is also interested in basketball, cricket and professional wrestling.
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