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| Photo=Fabricio Romano SNS |
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Real Madrid has decided to bring about a big change.
Spain's Marca said in a breaking news on the 9th (Korean time) 'On May 25, Real coach Carlo Ancelotti puts down the baton with a spectacular goodbye. The place will be taken over by Xavi Alonso, ushering in a new era. Real and Ancelotti agreed to focus on winning the league first, and had already been preparing to say goodbye with mutual respect before that. Ancelotti's last will be a grand farewell stage for the club and the fans,' he said, adding that Ancelotti would leave Real and Alonso would take over.
It has been said that Ancelotti could leave Real since last summer. Surprisingly, the two sides signed a contract. However, the two sides agreed to part ways after talks as Ancelotti faced a crisis of no involvement this season and was attracted to taking the helm of the Brazilian national team.
Marca also agreed with Real and Ancelotti after the quarterfinals against Arsenal in the European Champions League. At the time, Ancelotti and the team's leaders agreed that the best way for both sides would be to go their own way. Until then, Real's leaders had been looking carefully at the market without any official moves, and Alonso was at the center of the race as a likely candidate for the next head coach in the process, he explained.
Real decided to bring in Alonso and negotiated with Bayer Leverkusen. Negotiations took longer than expected, but Alonso decided to go to Real. "Alonso will sign a three-year contract as Real's next manager, and he knows Real better than anyone else at the moment," Marca said.
Leverkusen has already said that there was a gentleman's agreement in the contract signed with Alonso that he would gladly send an offer from Real. Marka also 'Leverkusen is expected to reach an amicable agreement without conflict over the termination of Alonso's contract. Under the gentleman's agreement mentioned by the Leverkusen CEO, Alonso opened the way for him to leave the team with one year left on his contract. Of course, Leverkusen will receive certain compensation in return. Real is expected to seek Leverkusen's understanding and launch the Alonso system smoothly, it said.
Alonso was a midfield commander who commanded Europe as a player. He rose to the world class by playing in Europe's best big clubs such as Liverpool, Real, and Bayern. He also led Spain's heyday from the late 2000s to the mid-2010s.
After finishing his career, Alonso immediately followed his path as a leader. Still, no one expected Alonso to succeed so quickly. Alonso, who has built his career step by step through youth coaching at Real and B team manager Real Sociedad, headed to Leverkusen in 2022.
At that time, Leverkusen took a huge gamble to bring in Alonso, who had no experience as a first-team coach, at a time when it crashed to near the relegation zone. The gamble was first place lotto. Manager Alonso immediately normalized the team, making Leverkusen proud of itself as a prestigious German company.
The 2023-2024 season was historic. Alonso and Leverkusen have worked miracles. It beat Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga's absolute powerhouse, to win the league for the first time in 120 years since Leverkusen's foundation. It was even an undefeated victory. This season, he lost to Bayern's wildness and lost the championship again, but Alonso's leadership has been firmly recognized over the past two and a half seasons.
Alonso returned to Real and took the opportunity to become a world-renowned master. The key is to balance the team that Ancelotti failed this season. It's important how to get Ballon d'Or stars like Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior to fit in.
Marca also hopes to see some players rebound, with players rated as the core of the team, such as Vinicius and Mbappe, and Bellingham, performing at a higher level. Bellingham's case is also expected to continue to be the centerpiece of the team in the future. In conclusion, the first season of Alonso's system will not be a major change, but will move toward maximizing competitiveness based on the current squad,' he predicted.
Reporter Kim Dae-sik rlaeotlr2024@sportschosun.com
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
