Less than a year in charge of the top flight, Alonso started to line the Bayern manager's team?
Intern reporter Yang Linpei reports that the old master, the world wave, the middle post, the penalty tie, the second reading kill was blown ... The various dramas played out one by one in the Bundesliga top match: leaders Bayer Leverkusen faced Bayern, twice trailed and equalized, took away one point after 99 minutes away from home, and continued to lead the table with a goal difference. Pharmacy manager Xavi Alonso, who is in charge of a top-flight team for the first time, has won one and drawn one against his former club Bayern Munich twice in less than a year, leading a four-game unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen to write a new history.
On May 20, 2017, in the final round of the Bundesliga, Alonso ended his illustrious career as a Bayern player at the Allianz Arena in Munich, when he shared a beer bath with Ram, who also completed the retirement ceremony on that day, and the Bayern captain deserved more attention and glory; And 2,309 days later, when the Spanish midfielder set foot on the field again, he has transformed from a meritorious player to an away manager, but he has no intention of fusing his old club, "Bayern are still favourites, but if we do our best, we have a chance to win." ”
The second leg meeting between the two sides last season gave Alonso plenty of confidence. Argentine Palacios was the hero of that game, and at Bayer Stadium, his penalty double sounded to help the pharmaceutical company win Bayern 2-1. It was that game that contributed to Nagelsmann's dismissal four days later.
"It's a great challenge for us to play against a top team in this beautiful stadium." Alonso, who is familiar with the Allianz Arena, certainly knows what kind of pressure it will be to challenge Bayern Munich away. The Bayer Leverkusen certainly relished their home comeback in the second leg last season, but that didn't change their embarrassment at Allianz in the first leg – it was the crushing defeat that sent away then-pharmaceutical manager Sevane, and the Swiss left with a humiliating record of winning just one of the opening eight games and finishing second from bottom and Alonso taking over, becoming the second Spanish manager in Bundesliga history after Pep Guardiola.
The grudge of each sending away one of the other managers is naturally the biggest talk of the fans on both sides before the game. But the fans of the two teams probably did not expect that this Bundesliga top match itself was a more dramatic performance.
Bayern, who faced Bayer Leverkusen at home in a Oktoberfest "limited" for the second year in a row, were pierced by new signing Kane in the opening seven minutes, but Alonso's side did not repeat the mistakes of Sevanet's coaching, and Grimaldo's precision shot helped the visitors equalise for the first time, and they could even have taken the lead at half-time had it not been for Boniface's one-handed goal slightly beyond half a position.
The second half was even more exciting, Bayer Leverkusen showed the momentum of the leader away from home, Boniface and Wiltz took turns threatening the gate guarded by Ulreich, Hradecki was even more divine, and the miracle of blocking Kane's close-range shot with his heel in seven saves was also included; At one point, Gretzka's goal brought the home side close to three points again, but Hoffmann and Palacios combined to shatter Nandaiwang's dream of rising to the top of the table, and the latter snatched four points from the Bundesliga banba with a penalty shot against Bayern for the third time.
With Palmecano ruled offside in the eighth minute of stoppage time, Bayern fans had to accept that they would continue to be subservient – or perhaps they would be relieved that the Bayer Leverkusen boss had been a Bayern hero. 'I already wanted to be a coach when I played at Bayern, and those three years helped me better understand Germany, German and the Bundesliga, and it helped me a lot in my next career. For the first time in the Bundesliga, Alonso naturally did not forget to pay homage to the mountain of his old club, but the undefeated performance of the two games was too amazing.
Ahead of the match, Bild even started building momentum: if Bayern are looking for Tuchel's successor, the 41-year-old Alonso will be the number one candidate on their list for a change of manager. Of course, they will also face competition from Spaniard's other old club, Real Madrid, who is also seen by the Bernabeu as a competitive successor to Carlo Ancelotti's departure.
Of course, for Alonso, who really started his first full season in the top flight, Bayern and Real Madrid are still far away, and he still has to cultivate the current field.
Alonso's journey to coaching at the pharmaceutical factory was not all smooth sailing. When he took office last season, he was in front of him for the Bundesliga powerhouse to get off to its worst start since its promotion in 1979. Alonso, who was on the verge of being appointed and inexperienced, beat Schalke 04 4-0 in his managerial debut, but then suffered a six-game winless run, causing Leverkusen fans to wonder whether the junior brother, who had only real experience in Real Madrid Under-14 and Real Sociedad B, was really capable of coaching the five major league teams.
Leverkusen sporting director Rohr Face gave Alonso enough credit: "Yes, he has not been a manager in the first team, but experience is not a problem, the key is whether your level is convincing, Nagelsmann was only 28 when he started coaching at Hoffenheim. Alonso also proved himself with time and action, and he was "hand-picked by the madman" when he played under Jose Mourinho, and responded to the doubts with the feat of "beating away" Nagelsmann, the model of young coaches in the words of Roerfes.
"To be a better coach, I need to polish my skills and tactics repeatedly, and after tossing and turning, I get up and get ready for work." Not only does he wake up at 2 a.m. to get ready for work, but he also uses the World Cup breaks to repeatedly delve into tactics and find the best style of play for the team. After more than 4 months of running-in, the team was finally put on track after the Europa League elimination of Monaco. Alonso gradually fixed his three-centre-back formation, and the fast-paced attacking and defensive switch has yielded satisfactory results, as they are unbeaten in 14 consecutive games in the Bundesliga and Europa League, winning 10 of them.
In Europe, Bayer Leverkusen also became the furthest of the eight Bundesliga teams in the European League, and although they were eliminated by one goal by Alonso's mentor Jose Mourinho Roma in the Europa League semi-finals, the final finish of sixth place in the league at the end of the season has exceeded the club's expectations, and in return, he has also received a new contract extension until 2026 before the start of the new season.
After the start of the new season, Alonso and his team raised their hot form last season to another notch, sweeping the 4th division team with 8 goals in the first round of the German Cup, and then defeating RB Leipzig, 4th place last season, 3 goals clean sheet, 5-1 victory over promoted Madamstadt, all the way to the top, even Bayern, failed to pull them off the top of the table: 13-16 shots on goal, 5 shots on target and 1 post, Bayer Leverkusen, who also won 3 and drew 1 after 4 rounds, Beat Bayern on goal difference.
Compared to fans, players are dressing room fans who can get along with Alonso day and night. Alonso often coaches the players himself: "It's cool for the coach to train with us, there's always a lot of laughter on the pitch and I've always wanted to beat him in training, so I have to give my best. Young Germany international Wiltz said of their manager; The soon-to-be-31-year-old former Arsenal captain Xhaka said that Alonso's call made him quickly make the decision to return to the Bundesliga - the Swiss did not live up to the trust of "Brother Long", he started all five games in the new season, ranked first in the team in the number of passes, and his arrival made the team's offensive organization more flexible.
Last season's Europa League top scorer Boniface also continued to shine under Alonso, scoring twice in the last two rounds of the league to win the Bundesliga Player of the Month and Rookie of the Year awards in August. After the departure of the team's top scorer Moussa Diaby in the Premier League last season, Bayer Leverkusen maintained a strong attacking firepower, ranking first in the Bundesliga with 13 goals in four games before visiting Bayern, and scored by eight different players, throughout the front and center and backfield.
Bayern are unbeaten in both games, and the eye-catching performance of the "Long" pharmaceutical company has even given the people of Bayer Leverkusen an "unrealistic illusion", club CEO Carlo said, "If there is a team that can remove Bayern from the throne of eleven consecutive titles, I hope this team is us." Xhaka summed up after the game more implicitly: "We have the ability to compete with Bayern, but at the moment the league has only played four rounds, it is too early to say the title, we have to keep our feet on the ground and the team can perform better. ”
Alonso has become a big star in the history of world football, but he is not satisfied with that: "I really like football, the reality of not being able to play anymore has made me focus on coaching, football has been in my blood. Alonso is still moving forward, continuing on the "beautiful football script" he painted when he joined Bayern, and the next episode of the script may be called "How the famous manager Alonso is tempered".