{"id":94324,"date":"2023-10-07T08:33:01","date_gmt":"2023-10-07T08:33:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/?p=94324"},"modified":"2023-10-07T08:33:01","modified_gmt":"2023-10-07T08:33:01","slug":"the-euro-files-xabi-alonso-is-proving-to-be-the-real-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/soccer\/the-euro-files-xabi-alonso-is-proving-to-be-the-real-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"THE EURO FILES:\u00a0Xabi Alonso is proving to be the real deal"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>THE EURO FILES:\u00a0 Xabi Alonso&#8217;s the real deal as the charming former Real Madrid star has Bayer Leverkusen flying&#8230; but how long until the Spanish giants come calling as he marks a year in charge?<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Xabi Alonso has marked one year in charge of\u00a0Bayer Leverkusen this week\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Alonso has transformed the team and has\u00a0Leverkusen leading the Bundesliga\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport&#8217;s podcast &#8216;It&#8217;s All Kicking Off!&#8217;\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Xabi Alonso this week clocked up exactly one year as coach of Bayer Leverkusen, and his team marked it with a win that keeps them top of their Europa League group.<\/p>\n<p>Leverkusen gambled on the untried former Liverpool midfielder last season after sacking Gerardo Seoane following a 2-0 defeat by Porto in the Champions League. They were 17th in the Bundesliga. They are now top.<\/p>\n<p>And it is not just that Alonso has put them top. The 41-year-old has put himself top. Top of Real Madrid\u2019s wish list as the man to replace Carlo Ancelotti at the end of the season. Top of Bayern Munich\u2019s wish list if it does not work out with Thomas Tuchel. And top of Liverpool\u2019s list of coaches beyond the reign of Jurgen Klopp.<\/p>\n<p>Tactically, Alonso has got Leverkusen playing fast, attacking football but first, says the club\u2019s sporting director Simon Rolfes, he showed his man-management skills by lifting the players off the floor when he arrived.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Because of the mental state back then, it took a while for them to grow in confidence,\u2019 he says of the turnaround that saw Leverkusen finish sixth and reach the Europa League semi-finals.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/07\/06\/76270275-12604481-image-a-1_1696656124200.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Xabi Alonso has marked the year anniversary of taking over as Bayer\u00a0Leverkusen manager<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/07\/06\/76270301-12604481-image-a-12_1696656273146.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Bayer Leverkusen are flying under Alonso with the team currently leading the Bundesliga<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/07\/06\/76270323-12604481-image-a-15_1696656609070.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Alonso&#8217;s impressive work at Bayer has seen the club emerge as rivals to Bayern Munich<\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>Alonso is smart and charming in everything he does. In his pre-match press conference before the midweek game against Molde, he politely told the translator she had to translate his answers into Norwegian not German. He had already answered in German.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018If you are going to just repeat me, then come up with a better answer than I have,\u2019 he said with a smile.<\/p>\n<p>He speaks fluent German now \u2014 another page copied from the managerial manual of his tutors Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho and Ancelotti; speak their language, it will help you win their league. Can he win the Bundesliga?<\/p>\n<p>On Sunday his team play their regional rivals, Cologne, 16 places below them, and it is a measure of what Alonso has achieved in such a short space of time that they go into that game with a few grumbles about the manner of their last win. Alonso rested seven players for the 2-1 victory against the Norwegian champions on Thursday. In the league, it has been five wins and a draw in the opening six matches.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We were a bit too relaxed. That\u2019s not good,\u2019 said Alonso after the Molde win. \u2018It also happened against H\u00e4cken (their last Europa League rivals, who they beat 4-0). We have to think about that.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Former Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka, reborn as midfielder-leader under Alonso, said: \u2018That\u2019s what distinguishes a top team \u2014 that you also win games where maybe you don\u2019t shine.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>If Alonso does win the league, would there be a mic drop and a flight straight to Madrid? He has a contract until 2026. Madrid have not approached him or his club yet. \u2018We\u2019re in September,\u2019 he said two weeks ago when asked about the rumours. \u2018It\u2019s not an issue.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Ancelotti will leave in the summer and to borrow the words of Mourinho, who would love to be Madrid\u2019s first choice but knows he no longer is: You don\u2019t have to be a \u2018football Einstein\u2019 to know who their top pick is.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/07\/06\/76270307-12604481-image-a-13_1696656365293.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti is expected to leave the club at the end of the season<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/07\/06\/76270309-12604481-image-a-14_1696656373241.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Former Real star Alonso has been viewed as the perfect candidate to succeed Ancelotti<\/p>\n<p><span>Kane&#8217;s new Bayern wingman hailed by Muller\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Harry Kane has a new wingman at Bayern Munich and he has the potential to be one of the best, according to Thomas Muller. Despite only starting one game so far this season, 18-year-old Mathys Tel has scored six goals, the latest earning Bayern a win over Copenhagen in the Champions League.<\/p>\n<p>In just 231 minutes he has also managed two assists, although that is not necessarily going to be his forte, believes Muller.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018If we remember Arjen Robben,\u2019 he said. \u2018We also sometimes thought that he should have seen the man next to him but he was so focused on scoring that he got a lot of goals. Mathys should continue to do his thing.\u2019 In other words, he is greedy \u2014 long may it last.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/07\/06\/76270325-12604481-image-a-16_1696656782849.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Bayern teenager\u00a0Mathys Tel has scored six goals this season despite making only one start<\/p>\n<p><span>\u00a0Morata finally looks the part for Simeone<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Diego Simeone once asked referee Cesar Soto Grado if he had anything personal against Alvaro Morata, the answer he got back was: \u2018He exaggerates too much.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Simeone shared the anecdote with reporters, which seemed to suggest he might even agree.<\/p>\n<p>Morata has never been his manager\u2019s idea of the perfect striker. Last season, he admitted still missing Diego Costa. And somewhere between the snarling Brazilian and the emotionless goal machine Radamel Falcao is the Atletico manager\u2019s ideal centre forward.<\/p>\n<p>Morata has always been a nice but sensitive guy. Maybe too much so at times to deal with things top players have to deal with, like moves abroad when still young.<\/p>\n<p>He cried at Juventus when things were going wrong and was told by Gianluigi Buffon, on the treatment table next to him: \u2018Save it for home, public tears only please your critics and upset your backers.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>He was only 20 at the time. He is 31 this month and it remains difficult to classify his career.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/07\/06\/76270341-12604481-image-a-17_1696656952401.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Alvaro Morata could be on course for his best season yet after a strong start to the campaign<\/p>\n<p>The fact Real Madrid, Juventus, Milan, Chelsea and Atletico Madrid have all at different times wanted him is a testament to his talent.<\/p>\n<p>The fact they have also been willing to let him go is a reminder of his shortcomings. He has never scored 20 league goals in a season but something feels different about this campaign.<\/p>\n<p>He has 10 goals in 10 games for club and country in all competitions. Simeone has set him the target of 18 in La Liga and he already has five in four starts.<\/p>\n<p>And it is not just the goals. \u2018This is the Morata we need,\u2019 Simeone said after the Spaniard scored twice to win the Madrid derby. He may be at the start of his best season ever \u2014 and that can only be good for Atletico.<\/p>\n<p><span>Jude \u2018the new Di Stefano\u2019 as he maintains purple patch<\/span><\/p>\n<p>After his eighth goal in nine games in midweek, Jude Bellingham was likened to Alfredo Di Stefano, Cristiano Ronaldo and Moses (the Old Testament prophet who parted the Red Sea, not the Eighties midfielder Remi).<\/p>\n<p>The Ronaldo comparison had more to do with his goal celebration being mimicked by everyone from school children to fellow pros.<\/p>\n<p>The Di Stefano likeness carried more weight coming from Spanish football historian Alfredo Rela\u00f1o, who wrote: \u2018He is just as elegant (as Di Stefano) in the way he runs and uses the ball and just as ferocious in the way he wins it back.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/07\/06\/76270357-12604481-image-a-18_1696657051524.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Jude Bellingham was likened to\u00a0Alfredo Di Stefano after an eighth goal in nine matches<\/p>\n<p><span>Two Legia Warsaw players arrested amid\u00a0AZ Alkmaar unrest\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Violent scenes marred another AZ Alkmaar Europa Conference League fixture, this time with two players from their opponents arrested.<\/p>\n<p>Legia Warsaw\u2019s Radovan Pankov and Josue Pesqueira were taken off the team bus after Alkmaar\u2019s 1-0 win.<\/p>\n<p>Conflicting stories have emerged, with claims from the Dutch side that the pair were involved in an assault.<\/p>\n<p>Counter-claims from the Polish side say heavy-handed stewarding provoked the trouble.<\/p>\n<p>Alkmaar were fined \u20ac80,000 (\u00a369,000) after last season\u2019s European Conference semi-final second leg when thugs attacked an area in which West Ham players\u2019 friends and family were seated.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/07\/06\/76270359-12604481-image-a-19_1696657167829.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Two Legia Warsaw players were taken off their team bus and arrested after their Europa League tie<\/p>\n<h3>IT&#8217;S ALL KICKING OFF!\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span><span>It&#8217;s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span>It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/08\/02\/636x90_facebook_ad_sport.png\" width=\"636\" height=\"90\"><br \/>\nSource: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12604481\/THE-EURO-FILES-Xabi-Alonso-Liverpool-Bayer-Leverkusen-Real-Madrid.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>THE EURO FILES:\u00a0 Xabi Alonso&#8217;s the real deal as the charming former Real Madrid star has Bayer Leverkusen flying&#8230; but<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>THE EURO FILES:\u00a0Xabi Alonso is proving to be the real deal - stopsmokingway<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/soccer\/the-euro-files-xabi-alonso-is-proving-to-be-the-real-deal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"THE EURO FILES:\u00a0Xabi Alonso is proving to be the real deal - stopsmokingway\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"THE EURO FILES:\u00a0 Xabi Alonso&#8217;s the real deal as the charming former Real Madrid star has Bayer Leverkusen flying&#8230; 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