Xabi Alonso starts in Leverkusen: “Need a great winning mentality”

Xabi Alonso has thrown himself passionately into his work as a coach at Bayer Leverkusen. “We need a great winning mentality,” said the highly decorated Spaniard at his presentation on Thursday. They want to “play modern football. Intensely, with and without the ball. We want to be dominant and active,” said the 40-year-old. Bayer need “a good mentality” and concentration in every game, “for 95 minutes”.

Alonso will make his Bundesliga debut as a coach in a basement duel with newly promoted Schalke 04 on Saturday (3:30 p.m.). “I’m looking forward to it,” said the former world and European champion, who spoke a lot of German. He is “very motivated”. It is now important for the team, for the club and for the fans to be positive. For him it is “a great honor” to return to the Bundesliga after five years.

Alonso, who played for FC Bayern from 2014 to 2017, signed a contract with Leverkusen until the summer of 2024. He succeeds the Swiss Gerardo Seoane, who was released on Wednesday evening after just two wins from the previous twelve competitive games of the season.

When asked about interest from Spain, the Spaniard revealed: “Yes, there were inquiries. But with me, things stay in my head that I have a good feeling about. That’s how it was at Bayer. I know the German mentality , I know the seriousness. That helps.”

The 41-year-old is not only familiar with the German mentality, but also with the language. He wants to give training instructions in a bit of German, as well as in Spanish and English – he just can’t speak French. “After five years I’ve definitely forgotten some German. But I’ll try it. It’s a big project and we have big goals to achieve. But please ask questions slowly. Maybe I’ll switch to English sometimes.”