A new leader for a new era. A strategist. A legend. Nowadays everything changes. It is official: Xabi Alonso is the new manager of Real Madrid. The return of El Profesor, as he is lovingly known. The man of the 60-Yard Pass, the one whose heartbeat hardly rises in the eye of the storm. A calm commander without a whip – yet obsessively meticulously. If something is not completely nailed, he wakes up at 2:00 to sort it. A perfectionist who has been proven that chess can be played on a football field. Elegant, discreet and different from any other – as a player, and now as a coach. He has signed a three-year deal, until 2028. From this moment on this is his team in front and adversity. This is Xabi Alonso's Real Madrid.
His rule starts almost immediately. Alonso will officially take the lead on June 1, so that the team leads to the FIFA Club World Cup. The structure will be hurried by the international break, he only has one week with the entire team for their debut on June 18, against Al Hilal. But whatever happens, it will be with him. In addition to his familiar staff from Germany – Sebas Parrilla as assistant and Ismael Camenforte, the “new Pintus”, as fitness -drawer. And with three new signing sessions: Dean Huijsen (already confirmed), Trent Alexander-Arnold (whose announcement is on his hands), and a left back, probably Juan Miranda Carreras (80% done). These are the foundation stones of a new project, one that starts on 1 June in Valdebebas.
An agreement of a gentleman
Weeks of conversations, negotiations and meetings led to the moment. The process began after the exit of Madrid's Champions League – and accelerated after their collapse in La Cartuja. From that moment the pace went up. The key: a men's agreement that had already become public knowledge. If Real would pay around $ 8.6 million, Bayer Leverkusen would not stand in the way. That is exactly what happened. The only remaining question was the timing: before or after the club's World Cup? If it were the last one, Santiago Solari would have arrived temporarily. But in recent weeks – after the promise of the club of those three signing sessions – Alonso agreed to start now.
Obsessed by the clubworld cup
His presentation is planned for Monday, but Alonso starts to give orders on 1 June. He will be on the sidelines in the United States for the World Cup-a tournament with a breathtaking prize (Madrid expects to earn $ 108 million when they win) and extraordinary excitement behind the scenes. There is a burning ambition to be 'the first champions in the history of the competition – just as they were for the European Cup'. The urgency is now completely logical. Alonso has accepted the challenge. In the dressing room his arrival is seen as a leadership statement. At the club they get that, despite his age, he arrives with full authority. He is the manager. The leader. Period.
What does his Madrid look like?
Alonso, 43, will be presented tomorrow in Valdebebas. He was signed until 2028 and he brings a sense of revolution. The biggest question surrounds his formation: the current feeling is that he opts for a 4-4-2, with VinÃcius JR and Kylian Mbappé in front. But the more radical system he used at Leverkusen with three Middle Agent Points and Vleugelbacks tempted its staff. It is unlikely that it works at Madrid, but not impossible. He will also have to call difficult calls to different players who run an iron – including David Alaba, Ferland Mendy, Fran GarcÃa and Rodrygo.
Steps in the shoes of Carletto
The Madrid that comes is full of mystery. It is expected that it is vertical, offensive. A fearless team built for spectacle, especially with Barça by Hansi Flick as rivals. Xabi Alonso is here. It's real. He replaces Carlo Ancelotti, who leaves a towering inheritance: 15 titles and three championships. No small achievement. Alonso knows him well – Ancelotti coached him during the 2013–14 season in Madrid (last year of Xabi at the club) and again in Bayern Munich in 2016-17. Their band remains strong. But still, if anyone had written this next chapter then, neither would have believed it. But here we are.
From Tolosa to the Stars
Alonso grew up in Tolosa, a picturesque Basque city of 20,000. That's where it all started. His coaching trip started in 2018–19 with Real Madrid's Under-14s and led them to a competition title. He then returned to Zubieta – his other house – and led Real Sociedad B to a historic promotion to the second level of Spain. Then his masterpiece came to Bayer Leverkusen: a domestic treble from Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Supercup. He brought them back to the Champions League – putting on a wounded giant again and let them roar again.
And he reached the unthinkable: the termination of the 11-year-old stranglehold of Bayern Munich on the Bundesliga. From 2012 to 2024 there had only been one champion. Then Xabi arrived and everything turned upside down. Fifty-fifty matches undefeated their last loss of the Europa League for Atalanta. Only one defeat throughout 2023–24, but it stuck. Yet it was enough to reach the Champions League, where they were eliminated by Bayern. Yet Xabi brought them back to the top.
The “bug” and 2 hours of wake-ups
“I love football too much to stay away,” Alonso told El PaÃs. “It can no longer play, ensures that this job pulls me in … I get up at 2 o'clock and start preparing things because I turned in bed. Until I tie that loose end, I can't rest. As soon as the bug comes into your blood, it doesn't go away. I am not the only coach who does this.” He hung up his boots in 2017, took a year off and then stepped in to manage Real Madrid's U14s – while earning his UEFA Pro license alongside Raúl, Xavi and VÃctor Valdés, graduation in 2019.
No iron fist
“A drill sergeant? Really not! I love discipline and basic professional standards, but as a bastard … it doesn't come naturally. Although I am sure, I will put on the jacket and be a bastard … you have to play different tunes,” he said to El PaÃs again in 2017. He added about Madrid: “You can win La Liga, the Copa del Rey … but the photos in the course of Valdebebas are from the winners of the Champions League. In Madrid the Champions League is a place in history.” He knows what is expected. He comes to the temple of the big ears.
The time of the professor
From today it is his era. It is official – he is the new manager. The professor is back in the capital. He will lead the team from 1 June. He will be at the club World Cup. The man of 60-yard fits, the one who stays cool in chaos. The one who plays chess on grass. The boy from Tolosa. The genius of Leverkusen. A strategist. A legend. He is here. Ladies and gentlemen are at ease. This is the Real Madrid of Xabi Alonso.