Football Bundesliga: Basque with charisma: Alonso faces important title test

If Xabi Alonso had no character, he might be at FC Bayern now. At least that was the opinion of Uli Hoeneß’s wife, “and she was right as always,” said the honorary president of the German record champions. “‘If he has character, he won’t come,'” Susi is said to have said, according to Uli.

Which is actually quite strange, because Bayern and Hoeneß were keen to sign the Basque in the summer. Alonso was high on their ominous list of coaches. But he stayed at Bayer Leverkusen and will once again travel to Munich as an opponent for the top Bundesliga match on Saturday (6.30 p.m./Sky).

The summit meeting is already underway

Bayern against Leverkusen, the two best teams currently face off on the fifth matchday. Bayern are first, Leverkusen second. Bayern have already scored 16 goals, Leverkusen 13, making them the top scorers. Unlike last season, however, the defending champions from the Rhineland are not the favorites going into the duel with the record champions, who are currently being revived by Vincent Kompany.

The Belgian, in other words, who was not at the top of Bayern’s list like Alonso in the summer. Kompany was not even candidate two or three, but in the end they were all happy to sign him. So far, the 38-year-old has had great success with his new club, and everyone is raving about the new man on the sidelines. But the truth is that Leverkusen is now the first big test.

But how strong are the champions at the moment? Alonso had to take a deep breath when he scored his next victory on Sunday. 4:3 against Wolfsburg after falling behind twice was too much drama even for his Spanish nature. Many things about his team were “not, not good”, especially their defensive behaviour. “That’s not enough,” criticised midfielder Granit Xhaka, also with a view to Bayern.

Special speeches by Alonso

But they still have Alonso. The 42-year-old will surely come up with something for Munich. Against Wolfsburg, for example, he started with a back four, which was a bit of a surprise. But it wasn’t so much the tactical tricks that catapulted him onto the radar of almost every top European club last season.

Of course, first and foremost there was this extraordinary success: leading Leverkusen to their first championship title without losing a game and also winning the cup. But how did this success come about? This quickly brings us back to the person Xabi Alonso, his world-class career as a player, his character. He is supposed to fill speeches to the team with so much life and credibility that even the substitute goalkeepers hang on his every word.

Great career as a trump card

Liverpool FC, Real Madrid, Bayern FC – quite a few players still dream of a career like Xabi Alonso had. When he tells them something, they believe it. Especially in Leverkusen, where many of them, like Florian Wirtz, Victor Boniface and Piero Hincapié, are just at the beginning of possible world careers.

So it was the perfect match: Alonso, who is still a novice coach in some respects, can develop there in relative peace. All the things that he may currently lack for the job of coach in one of the best clubs in the world, he was able to compensate for from the start in Leverkusen with his extraordinary charisma. But now he – just like his club – has taken the next steps.

This Saturday, Bayern will be the first test of the new development stage for him and the champions. Leverkusen have already conceded nine goals in four games, while Bayern have only conceded a third of that. If the defense wobbles like it did against Wolfsburg, things could end badly for Bayer. But Alonso will come up with something, right? After all, he has almost always managed to do that so far.