“What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger” or “It’s not the destination that matters, but the journey” are sayings that will guide Xabi Alonso ahead of the next season.In the previous year, the Spanish coach took the fans of Bayer Leverkusen on a ride of pride and enjoyment, allowing them to rejoice in the title of German champion for the first time in the club’s history – all that without a single defeat. In the same way, the Pharmacists won the national cup, and the only game they lost in the season was against Atalanta in the Europa League final.Bayer Leverkusen missed the opportunity to be among the few European clubs with the so-called treble (championship, cup, international competition), but Alonso does not regret it. Moreover, he believes that the defeat against the team from Bergamo will make him an even better coach.”Certainly it’s been a great journey. Very challenging and very demanding. During the first few weeks I got the impression that this could be quite a successful season for us. I wasn’t quite so optimistic that I believed we would be this good, but I believed we would be good,” said the young strategist in an interview with CNN.“These decisions, they need to be thorough. You need to really think about them. … My bond with Liverpool is there and it’s still there.”Xabi Alonso on links between him and the managerial job at Liverpool. By @AmandaDCNN and @aleksklosok 👉 https://t.co/avl2Lg9V6y pic.twitter.com/tqKUtGsTSx— CNN Sports (@cnnsport) June 4, 2024 The playing biography of the 42-year-old Basque is impressive. He played for Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Eibar and Real Sociedad. He won the Champions League twice, as well as the European Championship, and was world champion once. Although he could have done otherwise, he chose to build his coaching path gradually, starting in the B team of the club from San Sebastian.”Returning to my roots and working with young players at Real Sociedad helped me realize that football is not only the elite among whom I played for years, but I went back a few steps and put myself on the level of the players I work with. It helped me a lot to develop as a coach and I will never forget”.When he came to Bayer, the team was second from the bottom in the Bundesliga table. He managed to elevate them to sixth place, and then lead them to the throne. The transfer window last summer was excellent when Boniface, Tella, Xhaka, Hoffman, Grimaldo, and Stanišić were brought in… and they fit in perfectly with those who welcomed them.”When I came in the second part of the season, we played better and managed to climb to the place we wanted. Last season, the goal was to qualify for the Champions League.”Alonso pointed out that his players did not pay much attention to a long streak of games without defeat, but were more satisfied with good results and efficient play.”In the team, we don’t talk much about invincibility, but more about the spectacular numbers we had along the way. It was more exciting for the media to count from game to game, but short-term goals were more important to us than long-term.”##EDITORS_CHOICE##Bayer’s unbeaten streak last season was 52. The streak lasted until the penultimate challenge – the Europa League final against Atalanta in Dublin. And that’s when Xabi’s soldiers failed, giving one of the weakest performances since the Basque sat on the German club’s bench.”That’s football. The exception is the series we made, while facing defeats is part of our job. It’s not the first time, nor the last time. I’m pretty sure that losing to Atalanta will make me a better coach than if we won the Europa League. Such games are not forgotten and can be used in the future. At this moment it hurts, it hurts a lot, but I have a feeling that this defeat will be more useful for me to progress as a coach than if we had won and won the treble,” said Alonso, whose team quickly recovered and still ended the season triumphantly – winning the German Cup.What lies ahead after another Champions League heartbreak?At the end of the interview, Xabi Alonso referred to the invitation of his former club, Liverpool. Soon after Jurgen Klopp announced his departure from Anfield, the Bayer coach’s name began to be mentioned as his successor. However, Alonso disappointed the fans of his former club, and delighted the supporters of Bayer Leverkusen with his decision to stay at the Bay Arena for the next season.”Such decisions must be made thoughtfully and with a clear head. It was more about what I have than what I lack. Certainly, my relationship with Liverpool is still strong, nothing has changed and there are no problems”.When asked if he had negotiated with Liverpool’s leaders at all, Xabi Alonso did not want to reveal the details.”That’s behind the curtains,” the expert from the Basque Country answered briefly.##NAJAVA_MECA_8142197##
