Xabi Alonso

xabi alonso profile snabet
Major Trophies:
Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, DFL-Supercup
Teams Managed:
Real Sociedad B, Bayer Leverkusen, Real Madrid, Chelsea
Nationality:
Spain
Born:
1981
Birth Place:
Tolosa, Spain
Coaching Since:
2018

  • Xabi Alonso led Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title in 2023/24 and became the first coach to complete a Bundesliga season unbeaten.
  • Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen side went 51 consecutive matches unbeaten across all competitions in 2023/24, setting a record among clubs from Europe’s top five leagues.
  • Alonso completed a domestic double with Leverkusen in 2024 by adding the DFB-Pokal to the club’s first German league championship.
  • As a Spain player, Alonso earned 114 caps and won the 2010 FIFA World Cup alongside the 2008 and 2012 European Championships.
  • Xabi Alonso won the UEFA Champions League as a player with Liverpool in 2005 and Real Madrid in 2014, scoring in Liverpool’s Istanbul comeback.

Xabi Alonso Bio

Xabi Alonso was born in Tolosa, Spain, in 1981 and developed through the Real Sociedad academy. He made his senior debut for the Basque club in 1999 and became an important central midfielder during a period in which Real Sociedad challenged near the top of Spanish football. In 2002/03, Alonso helped the club finish second in La Liga, two points behind champions Real Madrid.

Liverpool signed him in 2004. His first season in England ended with one of the most famous European finals. Liverpool trailed AC Milan 3-0 at half-time in the 2005 UEFA Champions League final in Istanbul before scoring three times in six second-half minutes. Alonso completed the comeback by scoring the rebound from his own saved penalty to make it 3-3. Liverpool eventually won on penalties. Alonso also won the UEFA Super Cup and FA Cup during his five seasons at Anfield, making 210 appearances for the club.

Real Madrid brought Xabi Alonso back to Spain in 2009. He made 236 competitive appearances during five seasons and won La Liga in 2011/12, two Copa del Rey trophies and the 2014 UEFA Champions League. He joined Bayern Munich later in 2014 and won the Bundesliga in each of his three seasons in Germany before retiring in 2017.

Xabi Alonso was also part of one of Spain’s most successful international generations. He represented the senior national team 114 times and scored 16 goals. Spain won UEFA Euro 2008, the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012 during his international career, making Alonso one of the players involved in all three consecutive major tournament victories. He retired from international football in 2014.

His coaching career began in Real Madrid’s academy in 2018, where he took charge of the club’s under-12 side. Alonso returned to Real Sociedad the following year to manage the reserve team, commonly known as Sanse. He guided them to promotion to the Spanish second tier in 2021, their first appearance at that level in almost six decades.

Bayer Leverkusen appointed Xabi Alonso as first-team head coach in October 2022 with the club sitting 17th in the Bundesliga. They recovered to finish sixth and reached the Europa League semi-finals. His first full season then produced the most successful campaign in Leverkusen’s history.

In 2023/24, Leverkusen won the Bundesliga for the first time. They completed all 34 league matches without defeat, recording 28 victories and six draws to become the first team in Bundesliga history to finish an entire season unbeaten. The championship also ended Bayern Munich’s run of 11 consecutive German league titles.

Leverkusen extended their unbeaten sequence to 51 matches across all competitions before losing to Atalanta in the Europa League final. Four days later they defeated Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal final to complete the first domestic double in club history. Alonso added the German Super Cup in August 2024. His final season with Leverkusen ended with another second-place Bundesliga finish, while the team completed a second consecutive league campaign without losing an away match.

Real Madrid appointed Xabi Alonso as head coach in June 2025. The club had a disappointing season the previous year, when the team was coached by Carlo Ancelotti. The squad included stars such as Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham, among others, and there was believed to be tension in the locker room, making it a difficult environment for any new manager at the time.

His first months included a run to the FIFA Club World Cup semi-finals and a strong start to the domestic campaign, but results became less consistent later in the year. Madrid and Alonso mutually agreed to end his tenure on 12 January 2026, the day after a 3-2 defeat to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final. Reportedly, during his time in Real Madrid, Alonso wasn’t on good terms with Vinicius Junior.

Chelsea appointed Alonso in May 2026 on a four-year contract beginning on 1 July. The move brought him back to English football 17 years after leaving Liverpool and gave him his first managerial position in the Premier League. He began the 2026/27 season as Chelsea manager after spells in Germany and Spain had already included a Bundesliga title, German Cup and German Super Cup.