Xabi Alonso – Football Flame

Tag: Xabi Alonso

Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund renew rivalry in CWC quarterfinals
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NEWS

Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund renew rivalry in CWC quarterfinals

Bayer Leverkusen's Spanish head coach Xabi Alonso reacts from the sidelines during the German Cup (DFB Pokal) semi-final football match between Arminia Bielefeld and Bayer 04 Leverkusen in Bielefeld, western Germany on April 1, 2025. (Photo by UWE KRAFT / AFP) / DFB REGULATIONS PROHIBIT ANY USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AS IMAGE SEQUENCES AND QUASI-VIDEO. (Photo by UWE KRAFT/AFP via Getty Images) Big clubs meeting in big matches. That's the recent history for Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, who continue their rivalry in a Club World Cup quarterfinal on Saturday at East Rutherford, N.J. Real Madrid recorded a 5-2 win over Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League in October 2024, four months after they defeated the German side 2-0 in the final of 2023-24 Champions League. Add in that Real Madr...
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Real Madrid boss hit with huge selection headache ahead of Juventus showdown
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LALIGA

Real Madrid boss hit with huge selection headache ahead of Juventus showdown

18 June 2025, USA, Miami: Soccer: Club World Cup, Real Madrid - Al-Hilal, preliminary round, Group H, matchday 1 at the Hard Rock Stadium. Madrid coach Xabi Alonso arrives at the stadium before the match. As Real Madrid get ready for their big FIFA Club World Cup Round of 16 match against Juventus, manager Xabi Alonso has an important decision to make in defence. After three matches in charge, Alonso’s preferred system is becoming clear with three central defenders. Against Salzburg, this plan was confirmed, but now a key question remains: who will take the final spot in the back line alongside Dean Huijsen and Aurelien Tchouameni, who are both guaranteed starters. The options are Raul Asencio or Antonio Rudiger. Assessing the options Asencio is back in the squad after serving his suspensi...
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Incoming Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso has two systems in mind for squad
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LALIGA

Incoming Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso has two systems in mind for squad

Xabi Alonso of Bayer 04 Leverkusen gestures during the 1.Bundesliga match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund at BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany on May 11, 2025. Real Madrid, if they were not already in it, were launched into planning mode by defeat in El Clasico on Sunday, ending their slim hopes of retaining La Liga this season. Carlo Ancelotti has already been named as the new Brazil manager, and now Los Blancos are looking ahead to the arrival of Xabi Alonso on the first of June. Alonso’s arrival will bring fresh optimism to the Santiago Bernabeu ahead of the Club World Cup, as will new signings. Real Madrid intend to make three signings before the tournament in the new transfer window between the first of June and tenth of June. The first of those signings will be L...
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Xabi Alonso confirms Bayer Leverkusen exit before expected Real Madrid move
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BUNDESLIGA

Xabi Alonso confirms Bayer Leverkusen exit before expected Real Madrid move

Xabi Alonso of Bayer 04 Leverkusen gestures during the Champions League round of 16 match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Bayern Munich at BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany on March 11, 2025. (Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Xabi Alonso will leave Bayer Leverkusen at the end of the Bundesliga season, with the expectation he will take on the imminently vacant seat at Real Madrid. “We can let you know that this week the club and I, we have agreed that these two games are going to be my last two games as a Bayern Leverkusen coach,” Alonso told a Friday press conference. “We have been talking during this week that is always about the moment and now is the right moment to announce it.” After leading Leverkusen to an unbeaten Bundesliga title and a German Cup double...
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Xabi Alonso: Real Madrid set ideal timeframe for appointment
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BUNDESLIGA

Xabi Alonso: Real Madrid set ideal timeframe for appointment

Xabi Alonso of Bayer 04 Leverkusen controls the ball during the Champions League round of 16 match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Bayern Munich at BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany on March 11, 2025. Real Madrid are ready to accelerate their pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso, a report has revealed, with the recently dethroned Champions League holders hoping to appoint a new boss before this summer's Club World Cup. It emerged in the aftermath of Madrid's Champions League exit at the hands of Arsenal that current boss Carlo Ancelotti is expected to leave the club later this month, with the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona potentially his final game in charge. Alonso has long been viewed as Madrid's dream replacement for Ancelotti and The Times report that the 15-time Cham...
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Bayer’s Alonso clinches 50 Bundesliga wins
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BUNDESLIGA

Bayer’s Alonso clinches 50 Bundesliga wins

Xabi Alonso recorded his 50th win in 75 Bundesliga games with Bayer Leverkusen when they beat Freiburg on Matchday 15, making 2024 the most successful year in the club's history. That 50th victory was brought up in impressive style as Leverkusen ran out 5-1 winners against Freiburg. Alonso has been a revelation since taking charge of Die Werkself, winning the league undefeated in his first full season in the dugout, whilst also leading his side to DFB Cup and Supercup wins, as well as a UEFA Europa League final. So far in this campaign, Alonso has shown that last season was not just a case of beginner’s luck, winning nine, drawing five and losing just one of the opening 15 games. His side currently sit in second place, four points behind Bayern Munich and on their way to another title ch...
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Alonso: Inter European ‘strongest teams’, Bayer ‘can’t wait’
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Champions League

Alonso: Inter European ‘strongest teams’, Bayer ‘can’t wait’

LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY - DECEMBER 9: Headcoach Xabi Alonso of Leverkusen during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD6 press conference at BayArena on December 9, 2024 in Leverkusen, Germany. (Photo by Jörg Schüler/Bayer 04 Leverkusen via Getty Images) Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso admits it will be ‘fantastic’ to face Inter as they will try to win in ‘every possible way’ against one of the ‘strongest teams in Europe’ to qualify among the Champions League top eight. Last season’s Europa League finalists and the Nerazzurri are set to meet on Tuesday in a clash opposing two sides separated only by three points in the standings of the renewed Champions League’s group phase, and the Spanish coach claimed they are ‘looking forward’ to hosting a team with ‘great players and one o...
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Alonso slams Leverkusen ‘complacency’ after draw
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BUNDESLIGA

Alonso slams Leverkusen ‘complacency’ after draw

Hosts Bayer Leverkusen paid the price for being complacent after squandering a two-goal lead and losing control of the game before drawing 2-2 against promoted Holstein Kiel in the German Bundesliga on Saturday. Champions Leverkusen scored twice in the opening eight minutes but wasted a two-goal advantage for the third time in six Bundesliga matches this season. "I am not satisfied with our performance. It was our own fault. We did not play intelligently and we thought the game was done but in football you have to keep going always with the same intensity," Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso told reporters. "We were far too passive. After a big game in the Champions League we did not have the right mentality for this game." Last season's domestic league and cup winners, who beat AC Milan 1-0 in ...
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Vincent Kompany vs. Xabi Alonso: Battle of the coaches as Bayern Munich host Bayer Leverkusen
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PREMIER LEAGUE

Vincent Kompany vs. Xabi Alonso: Battle of the coaches as Bayern Munich host Bayer Leverkusen

New Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany will face his biggest challenge yet as his side host reigning Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen at the Allianz Arena on Saturday. LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 18: head coach Xabi Alonso of Bayer 04 Leverkusen gestures during the UEFA Europa League 2023/24 Quarter-Final second leg match between West Ham United FC and Bayer 04 Leverkusen at Olympic Stadium on April 18, 2024 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Vincent Mignott/DeFodi Images via Getty Images) In the opposite dugout will be Xabi Alonso, the former Bayern player who has already made the transition from world-class player to title-winning manager, and someone Kompany is trying to emulate.It has been a fantastic start to life at the Bayern helm for Kompany. In fact, the Belg...
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Alonso ‘bitter’ as Leverkusen unbeaten run ends
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BUNDESLIGA

Alonso ‘bitter’ as Leverkusen unbeaten run ends

Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso said he had a "bitter" feeling after the German champions saw their impressive unbeaten run in the Bundesliga end with a 3-2 defeat by RB Leipzig on Saturday. Under Alonso, Leverkusen have made crucial late goals a speciality. It briefly seemed like that might happen again when the referee went to review a possible penalty in the 86th minute after Leipzig's Castello Lukeba and Leverkusen's Patrik Schick made contact. The referee decided against the spot kick and Leverkusen lost to a German opponent for the first time since May 2023 after 35 Bundesliga games unbeaten, including their entire title-winning 2023-24 season. "It's hard, it's bitter," Alonso told German broadcaster Sky. "I don't think we deserved to lose today." The defeat left Leverkusen on...
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Leverkusen face first major hurdle against Leipzig
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BUNDESLIGA

Leverkusen face first major hurdle against Leipzig

Defending Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen face a potential title rival in RB Leipzig at the BayArena on Saturday (kick-off: 6.30pm CEST). Leverkusen were already the team to beat after sailing unbeaten to a Bundesliga and DFB Cup double in 2023/24. They let slip a 2-0 lead in the opening game of their title defence at local rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach last Friday, only for Florian Wirtz to score a 101st-minute winner that extends the club's remarkable unbowed run to 35 Bundesliga matches. That streak stands at a barely fathomable 43 fixtures in all domestic competitions, Xabi Alonso's charges having also got the better of VfB Stuttgart in the Supercup and fourth-tier Carl Zeiss Jena in the opening round of the DFB Cup. Goalkeeeper Lukáš Hrádecký should be fit after missing...
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BUNDESLIGA

Under Pressure: Bayer Leverkusen bosses reportedly urged to sell stars after title season

These are the days it never rains, but it pours. After securing a Bundesliga title and keeping hold of some of its key members — like attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz and head coach Xabi Alonso — Bayer Leverkusen is now reportedly under pressure from its ownership to cash in on success and sell other assets. It seems that is a situation Bayern Munich is capitalizing on by threatening to walk out of the door — with a move for Leverkusen center-back Jonathan Tah now looking unlikely, and causing a brief war of words between club executives this week. From Tz journalists Manuel Bonke and Philipp Kessler, as captured via @iMiaSanMia: Leverkusen are being urged by the Bayer Group to sell players because their market values ​​are higher than usual after the title. Tah is considered the num...
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