Xabi Alonso Signals a Fresh Dawn for Real Madrid

Real Madrid unveiled Xabi Alonso at Valdebebas on Monday, marking the club’s first managerial change since Carlo Ancelotti clinched his third Champions League crown in 2024. Alonso, 43, returns on a three-year contract, 11 seasons after leaving the Bernabéu as a player, and inherits a side still smarting from a trophy-less 2024-25 campaign in which they ceded La Liga to Barcelona by eight points, fell to their rivals in both domestic cup finals, and exited the Champions League in the quarter-finals.

Addressing reporters, the former midfield metronome declared “the start of an era,” pledging a team that “transmits emotion, energy and ambition.” Supporters are entitled to expect nothing less: Madrid’s cabinet already boasts 14 European Cups, 35 league crowns and 20 Copas del Rey, benchmarks Alonso referenced as motivation rather than burden.

His coaching résumé is compact but compelling. After guiding Real Sociedad B to Segunda B promotion, he masterminded Bayer Leverkusen’s historic 2023-24 double—securing the Bundesliga with three matches to spare and lifting the DFB-Pokal—while overseeing a 71 per cent win rate and the league’s highest expected-goals tally. Those figures underpin his conviction that a Madrid squad featuring eight players aged 24 or under can blend immediate impact with long-term evolution.

Alonso also paid tribute to Ancelotti—his mentor at both Madrid and Bayern—vowing to “carry on his legacy with honour and pride.” He officially takes the reins on 1 June, giving him little more than three weeks to shape preparations for the expanded FIFA Club World Cup in the United States, a tournament Madrid have already claimed a record five times.

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