Goodbye Ancelotti: A new Real Madrid signing is looming

The season has barely started and Real Madrid is already making some interesting moves for the coming season. This new movement doesn't involve a new player joining the 'merengues' – this new signing instead is aimed towards the Real Madrid bench.

The Italian coach will finish his contract in June and will pack his bags for Brazil, where he will become the third foreign coach to take command of the Brazilian team. This was announced during the summer transfer season, by the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), Ednaldo Rodrigues.

This situation, of course, will leave the Madrid bench without a coach, so in the upper echelons of the club, they have been working on a reliable replacement. There are a couple of options on the table, however, the one name that resonates the most is Xavi Alonso

Xavi Alonso is a Real Madrid legend after his iconic four years at the Santiago Bernabeu. He was regarded as a tactical genius then, and now as a coach, he has become one of Europe's biggest football revelations.

Xabi Alonso's journey as a coach is really quite short. For three seasons he was in charge of the Real Sociedad reserve team, the club where he trained and where he began to shape his exceptional career as a professional footballer.

He began coaching the reserve side of the San Sebastián team in 2ªB, achieving a creditable fifth place in his first campaign, 2019-2020. But it was in 2020-2021 when he managed to get his team to finish the season at the top of the ladder, playing in the playoffs and ascending to the Spanish Second Division, something they had not achieved since the 1961-1962 season.

Alonso led his team in a historic 2021-2022 campaign in which, however, they finished in 20th place and were relegated.

Those bad results did not prevent Bayer Leverkusen from acquiring his services in October 2022 as their new coach.

In the last 2022-2023 season, Alonso proved himself a world-class coach, shaping a team that lacked good football into a competitive squad. The Spanish coach guided the side to sixth place.

Alonso was at the helm for 27 games, and achieved a total of 15 wins and 5 draws, being defeated in only seven of those games.

In addition, they reached the semifinals of the Europa League, where they lost a tight 1-0 against AS Roma, coached by an old acquaintance of Alonso, José Mourinho!

In this new season, 2023-2024, Alonso had the best league start in the history of Bayer Leverkusen, getting the team to the top of the table and claiming important victories against teams like RB Leipzig and drawing with the almighty Bayern.

He commands a team that seeks to control the pitch tempo, is very organized in defense, and is aggressive on the attack. His tactical strategies resonate with those of Guardiola or Ancelotti. A bizarre blend of styles that touch on all the dimensions of total football.

Getting him out of Bayer Leverkusen, however, will not be an easy (nor cheap) task, since he would have to break his current contract with the German club. He is the second highest paid coach in the Bundesliga.

Something that has been emphasized, by the way, by Simon Rolfes, sporting director of Bayer Leverkusen, who assured that “Xabi doesn't have to say anything. He has extended his contract. “He is fully focused here and that is enough for now.”

However, a handsome transfer fee for the up-and-coming season will most likely certify the move of the Spanish coach back to what was one of his homes, the Santiago Bernabeu.

Evidently, the revelation of Xabi Alonso as a coach has caught the eye of many important European clubs. There would be a series interest coming from Liverpool and Bayern Munich, according to German newspaper Bild.

In addition to Leverkusen itself, which would like to retain his services project, the two other interested teams, according to Bild, are also part of Alonso's history as a player. During Alonso's stint at Liverpool, he flourished as a footballer.

We will have to wait and see how the season develops! Will Xabi Alonso be capable of sending Bayer Leverkusen to the top, and will Madrid be his next destination?

During an interview for the Spanish newspaper Marca, Xavi Alonso was asked about a potential future at Real Madrid, and he responded: "Real Madrid? Everything is in due time. Now I'm here, I'm very happy and what has to come in the future will be seen.”

“In football, normally, when you think in the medium-long term you lose focus on what is closest to you and right now I only think about what we have here," added Xabi Alonso in his statements.

On the other hand, there have been several Spanish media outlets such as El Desmarque that have already speculated that, if he returned to Real Madrid, Alonso would come with several players under his arm with whom to reinforce the squad: midfielder Florian Wirtz; the right back Jeremie Frimpong and the Nigerian striker Víctor Boniface. But those are just rumors...

Time will tell for Xavi Alonso, but Real Madrid fans already have their finger on the buzzer. The 'merengues' understand it will be a complicated move, however, a replacement for Ancelotti will be needed.