News about Xabi Alonso

Harry Kane's chances of winning a trophy next season have already been dealt a major blow after Bayern Munich finished third in the Bundesliga.  The England captain made the move to Germany in the hope of ending his career-long trophy drought however Bayern failed to win a single title in 2023-24. Thomas Tuchel's side were dumped out the DFB Pokal by third-tier FC Saarbrucken, knocked out the Champions League by Real Madrid and could do little to stop Xabi Alonso's unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen winning the Bundesliga.

Bayer Leverkusen completed their unbeaten Bundesliga campaign by beating Augsburg 2-1 on Saturday. Having wrapped up the title several weeks ago, the final league match of the season was always set to be a joyous occasion for Xabi Alonso's men in front of their home fans, and they did not disappoint. The hosts took the lead through Victor Boniface inside 12 minutes and then doubled their advantage 15 minutes later thanks to Robert Andrich.

Roberto De Zerbi will leave Brighton at the end of the season, the club have confirmed.

The Portuguese boss was at one stage expected to succeed Jurgen Klopp at Anfield after front-runner Xabi Alonso made his intentions to remain at Bayer Leverkusen clear. Feyenoord manager Arne Slot will be taking over from Klopp in the Reds dugout next season and was always in the frame for the position, but according to Bild reporter Christian Falk, Amorim had all but completed a move to Anfield before Sporting's president (top right) moved the goalposts.

Arne Slot has confirmed he will be Liverpool's new manager, with the Feyenoord boss taking over from Jurgen Klopp at the end of the season.  Klopp's announcement that he would leaving at the end of the 2023-24 season saw a number of managers linked with the soon-to-be vacant post at Anfield, with Xabi Alonso long-considered the front-runner.  After the Bayer Leverkusen boss announced he would be staying in Germany Roberto De Zerbi and Ruben Amorim appeared to be the leading contenders, before talk turned to Feyenoord's Slot in earnest earlier in April. 

Jeremie Frimpong is edging closer to a move away from Bayer Leverkusen this summer after attracting interest from the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Real Madrid, according to reports in Germany. The Dutch full-back has been an integral part of Xabi Alonso's title-winning Bayer Leverkusen side this campaign, contributing 14 goals and 12 assists across all competitions at the BayArena.  

Bayern were willing to pay roughly £15.5m but this was snubbed by the club's owner, despite the manager being keen on jetting off. The Bundesliga giants are seeking a replacement for Thomas Tuchel, who is due to depart at the end of the season, as announced in February. Their pursuit of a new manager has seen a deluge of rejection, seeing them snubbed by Xabi Alonso, Julian Nagelsmann, and Ralf Rangnick.

Real Madrid are reportedly aiming to make Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz their marquee signing for the 2025-26 season. This summer is set to be busy for Los Blancos, with Kylian Mbappe on the market after he announced he will be leaving PSG. However, it seems planning has already gone beyond next term, and Wirtz has supposedly caught their eye. Wirtz, 21, has been crucial to Xabi Alonso's side this season as they are closing in on an unprecedented invincible treble-winning season. The German international has racked up 37 goal involvements in all competitions so far this season, netting 18 goals, and providing 19 assists. His numbers have seemingly attracted the attention of the Spanish giants, and according to Spanish outlet Marca, Madrid have begun work on acquiring the young star for the summer of 2025.

PETE JENSON: Football always gives you another chance. If you are Bayer Leverkusen it will probably come in stoppage time. On their record-breaking 49-game unbeaten run Xabi Alonso's team have scored 17 goals in stoppage time, 11 of them decisive in avoiding defeat. But for others, more patience is needed. Olympiacos coach Jose Luis Mendilibar and Borussia Dortmund manager Edin Terzic had to wait seven and 12 months respectively for their next big opportunity. And Real Madrid striker Joselu waited 13 years.

Xabi Alonso has sensationally guided Bayer Leverkusen to their first ever Bundesliga title, ending Bayern Munich's 11-seasons of dominance.  What is particularly staggering is that Leverkusen could go the whole season without losing a game, should they come away unscathed in their final two league fixtures against VFL Bochum and Augsburg.  But there have been times during the 2023-24 campaign where they have had to rely on a bit of resilience, a stroke of genius and a few last-minute goals. In fact, they currently rank top in Europe's top five leagues having scored the most decisive goals past 90 minutes out of any club. 

19 years on from the 2005 Champions League final, two players who started that game will now face each other as managers in another major final. Liverpool famously came back from three goals down against AC Milan before winning on penalties in Istanbul. Now, a former Liverpool star and an ex-AC Milan player will do battle as managers in the AFC Champions League final. 

Bayer Leverkusen have made history. The Bundesliga Champions have set a new European record of 49 games unbeaten after Josip Stanisic netted yet another last-gasp equaliser to seal a 2-2 draw with Roma. Stanisic, 24, scored with the last kick of the game in the 97th minute to earn Leverkusen a 2-2 draw against Roma, and a 4-2 aggregate win, in turn booking their place in the Europa League final. Xabi Alonso's side just don't know when they are beaten, they were 2-0 down heading into the final 10 minutes, but after an own goal from Gianluca Mancini and then Stanisic's strike, they have now surpassed Benfica's 59-year record. The last time Leverkusen tasted defeat was on the final day of the 2022-23 season, losing 3-0 to VfL Bochum. They are now on the cusp of an unprecedented treble, having already won a first-ever Bundesliga title, and with the DFB Pokal final, and now a date with Atalanta in Dublin, still to come.

Bayer Leverkusen - who won the first leg of their Europa League semi-final 2-0 - are extremely short favourites at 1/200 to clinch their tie against Roma at home tonight. Meanwhile, Romelu Lukaku and Co are sizeable outsiders to progress to the final at 25/1. There are also 'Price Boosts' and a 'Scorecast Boost' available for this crucial clash. The boosts include 'Jeremie Frimpong to have 1+ shots on target in 90 minutes' at 1/1, 'each team to have 2+ shots on target in 90 minutes' at 11/4, and 'Romelu Lukaku to win 3+ fouls in 90 minutes' at 7/1. Meanwhile, the scorecast boost requires 'Florian Wirtz to score first and Bayer Leverkusen to win 2-1 in 90 minutes'.

Bayern's director of sport, Max Eberl, held talks with Ten Hag but he is no longer in the running to replace Thomas Tuchel, according to German newspaper Bild. Tuchel is set to leave the Allianz Arena at the end of the season as announced in February and is, incidentally, reportedly on United's list of contenders to succeed Ten Hag. Bayern have already been spurned by their first three preferences for the role - Xabi Alonso, Julian Nagelsmann, and Ralf Rangnick. All three occupy managerial jobs: Bayer Leverkusen, Germany, and Austria respectively.

Ruben Amorim has announced he will remain at Sporting Lisbon next season after leading the club to Liga Portugal success. Sporting were crowned champions with two games remaining after Benfica were defeated 2-0 by Famalicao on Sunday. The triumph marks Amorim's second league title since arriving at the club in 2020, having previously lifted the trophy in the 2020-21 season.

Bayer Leverkusen continued their incredible unbeaten run as they dispatched Eintracht Frankfurt with ease. Granit Xhaka opened the scoring with an incredible strike before Hugo Ekitike equalised for the hosts.

Bayer Leverkusen are on the cusp of making yet more history in what has been an extraordinary season for the Bundesliga club.  Xabi Alonso's (left) side defeated Roma 2-0 at the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday to move within touching distance of the Europa League final. The victory marked 47 games since the club last tasted defeat in all competitions, dating back to a 3-0 loss to Bochum on the final day of the 2022-23 season.

The Champions League semi-finalists have been on the hunt for a new boss since it was announced that Tuchel (right) would depart at the end of the season, but are having little luck in their search. The German side opted to move on from Tuchel in January amid their struggles in the Bundesliga, with the club conceding the title for the first time in 12 years. Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen have taken the crown. They may turn to the Premier League to answer their problems.

Ralf Rangnick has reportedly rejected the chance to replace Thomas Tuchel as Bayern Munich manager in the summer. Bayern had been discussing a deal with Rangnick which would involve him leaving the Austria post early. However, Rangnick intends to see out his contract with Austria until its expiry in 2026 and will lead them to Euro 2024 this summer, as per BILD. Rangnick was already their third choice to replace Tuchel after Xabi Alonso of Bayern Leverkusen and Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann - who used to manage Bayern - turned them down.

DANNY MURPHY: There was no ideal candidate out there to replace Jurgen Klopp because they are such huge shoes to fill. Not just in terms of team-building, but the relationship he had with the fans and the city. Even Xabi Alonso didn't tick all the boxes because he's only been a manager for a couple of years. I'm sure Liverpool have done their due diligence on Arne Slot and it's positive for the fans that he plays the game on the front foot just like Klopp. We're told he has a confident and humorous personality as well which is positive. He won't need three years to build a team to compete at the top level like Klopp did because he already has a squad in place with quality and the right blend of youth and experience.

Former Liverpool star Peter Crouch (inset) has warned incoming Reds boss Arne Slot (left) that it will be 'difficult' to replace Jurgen Klopp (right) in the Anfield dugout at the end of the season. The Reds were previously favourites to replace Klopp with former player Xabi Alonso before the Spaniard decided to extend his stay at Bayer Leverkusen after winning the Bundesliga title.

The former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain manager (left) was handed his marching orders at the end of February after overseeing a turbulent 10 months with the serial champions. The club were unable to claim their 12th consecutive Bundesliga title in the face of Xabi Alonso's ascendant Bayer Leverkusen side, and had been knocked out of the German Cup with just the Champions League left to contest. Bayern were set to chase Alonso in a bid to appoint him as their new manager, but he has opted to stay at Leverkusen.

INTERVIEW BY LEWIS BROWNING: Alonso (pictured) has enjoyed an extremely successful season in charge of Leverkusen, and Hamann is full of praise for the Spaniard. Leverkusen wrapped up their first-ever Bundesliga title last weekend, the first side to stop German giants Bayern Munich winning the title for 12 years. They are in the semi-finals of the Europa League and heavy favourites to win that, and it seems just a formality that they will lift the German Cup too when they face Kaiserslautern in around a month's time.

Liverpool fans are divided on Arne Slot's appointment after it was revealed the Premier League giants had reached an agreement with Feyenoord to make the Dutchman their new manager. The Merseyside club have agreed a compensation package for Slot to succeed Klopp, with Mail Sport reporting on Friday morning that figure could reach up to £9.42million.