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The big Premier League managerial reshuffle this summer included one particularly big bit of news: Xabi Alonso heading to Chelsea. Both man and club have had a wobbly time of it recently, Chelsea finishing 10th last season and Alonso only lasting seven months at Real Madrid after his tactics somewhat misfired. Both are looking to recapture the magic of former years. Alonso’s first match in charge was a slightly shambolic 6-4 win over Western Sydney Wanderers down under; it’ll take the return of World Cup players to the squad and the start of a new season to see how things will really pan out.
One area in which Alonso has been wasting exactly no time is in the watch stakes. While his fellow newbie, Liverpool’s Andoni Iraola, wears a sub-£1k Mido, Alonso used his first Chelsea press conference as a chance to flash a seriously in-the-know Patek Philippe. Most footballers and football managers wear some version of an Aquanaut or Nautilus, those two instantly recognisable models, but Alonso has gone for something a bit different.
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This is a 5170G Chronograph, and while the whole chronograph game is synonymous with famous, sporty models from Rolex and Omega, the format has really been given the classy Patek treatment here: white gold on a black leather strap, and very lovely typography in the form of all those sculptural numerals. Plus, those serif capitals for “gradue pour 15 pulsations” curving around the edge of the dial, a nice aesthetic hangover from when chronographs were used by doctors to measure patients’ pulse rates. (Maybe it’ll come in handy if any tight games really get his heart pounding.) There are no extra complications, like a date indicator, aside from the actual chronograph here, so the dial feels well balanced. It’s 39mm too, so can actually fit under a shirt cuff.
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If it says anything about Alonso’s intent with Chelsea, it’s in line with his previous coaching style – operating at a very high level without necessarily relying on flashy play. You certainly couldn’t say his more everyday watch is especially flashy: it’s a good old Garmin, in this case a Fenix 8 Pro. At 51mm, it’s a proper satellite dish, and it exemplifies the kind of aggression and dominance – and focus on fitness and form – that Alonso’s teams do at their best. Between this and the Patek, he really does have all bases covered. Now let’s see if these good on-wrist omens translate into results.