Xabi Alonso confirms staying at Leverkusen

German coach Xabi Alonso sees Leverkusen as a suitable environment to develop his coaching career next season, ending rumors that he will move to Bayern or Liverpool this summer.

On March 29, at a press conference before the match against Hoffenheim in round 27 of the Bundesliga, Alonso confirmed that he would continue to stick with Leverkusen, thereby blowing away rumors of succeeding Thomas Tuchel at Bayern or Klopp at Liverpool. Alonso said that he met with CEO Simon Rolfes and CEO Fernando Carro during the international break to announce this decision.

The Spanish coach stressed that he had carefully analyzed and considered Leverkusen the right place to continue his coaching career. He felt he had received respect from all members of the team, even in difficult times, and commitment, desire and determination from the players. "Putting all that together, I believe this important decision was the right one. I am still young and time will tell, but now I am happy," Alonso said.

Coach Xabi Alonso (second from right) and Leverkusen players thank the audience after the 3-2 win over Freiburg in round 26 of the Bundesliga on March 17. Photo: Reuters

Leverkusen are in the midst of a historic season, unbeaten in 40 games since the start of the season and holding the top spot in the Bundesliga with 70 points after 26 rounds, 10 points ahead of Bayern. Alonso's team will face West Ham in the Europa League quarter-finals and second-tier Fortuna Dusseldorf in the German Cup semi-finals.

When asked about interest from Bayern and Liverpool, Alonso replied: "It would be wrong for me to talk about other clubs at this time. Bayern and Liverpool are clubs that I respect. I played there, I have a strong connection with them, but it would be inappropriate for me to talk about them at this time. What is more important is that I have the belief that I am in the right place, at Leverkusen, that I want to continue to develop with the club and the players."

Klopp was then asked about Alonso's decision at a press conference ahead of Liverpool's Premier League clash with Brighton. "A young coach is at a club where he does well and I can sympathise. I did the same and never regretted it," the German coach replied. "Alonso is doing an incredible job at Leverkusen. Alonso can keep the whole team for next season and that's not always the case. I understand Alonso's decision."

Klopp led Dortmund from 2008 to 2015, with the highlight being winning the Bundesliga two consecutive seasons from 2010 to 2012. This was also the last time the Bundesliga title belonged to a club other than Bayern. In 2022, Klopp revealed that Bayern had approached him while he was working at Dortmund.

Hong Duy

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