Xabi Alonso has conducted his first interview since taking over as Chelsea manager with the Spaniard talking about his decision to move to Stamford Bridge and his ambitions at the club
16:07, 09 Jul 2026Updated 16:17, 09 Jul 2026
Xabi Alonso
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Xabi Alonso being officially unveiled as the new Chelsea manager(Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)
Xabi Alonso has highlighted the significance of "building a culture" at Chelsea's Cobham training centre and is relishing the challenge of becoming BlueCo's fifth permanent appointment.
The new Blues boss officially started work on July 1 but took his first training session on Thursday after becoming Liam Rosenior's permanent successor on a four-year contract. After a disappointing 2025/26 season that saw two head coaches in Enzo Maresca and Rosenior leave and be dismissed, respectively, the club have put their faith in Alonso spearheading BlueCo's ambitious long-term project at Stamford Bridge.
Alonso took his first pre-season training session on Thursday afternoon at the club's Cobham headquarters where he met the majority of the squad he has inherited. The new Chelsea boss believes the potential of the squad is "exciting" but a culture needs to be created beforehand.
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"For me, there are football principles that are non-negotiable to feel passion for what you do," said Alonso. "In football, you need to be willing to pay all the price to compete at the highest level. So you can't hold back anything. You need to give everything for the benefit of the team, and the team is always the most important thing."
He added: "The potential of the team and squad made me really excited, to find a squad to work with, create a football idea, bring excitement to the stadium and connect with the fans.
"It feels great, but it's a big honour. To be part of this great club that is one of the best in the world with great success in the last decades, and it's a big privilege to be a part, and now it's looking forward to the challenge."
Alonso knows first-hand how impressive the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge can be but in recent seasons, that has not been the case with a lot of the match-going crowd turning on the club's ownership group. The new Chelsea manager has pledged to try and restore the energy that the Bridge can generate.
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"I know the energy that this stadium has and we need to create that energy and this bond with all the parts," said the Blues gaffer.
Sharing a message with the supporters, who will get to see his side in action for the first time later this month with Chelsea jetting off to Sydney for the start of their pre-season tour, Alonso said: "The message is we want to share that belief that good things will come if we are together and we create this strength, it has to come from us to bring the energy, but together, we can achieve great things in the coming years."
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