![]() So was his relationship with the club’s fans. We spoke about this before I came here: he sees me as a No 6 and that’s how I see myself. “Last year I played as a No 8 and it went well, but this is a different team. And I see many of the same things in Xabi now.”Īlonso has given him a different role ahead of the new season. “I took a lot of things from Mikel Arteta, both as a coach and as a person. “They’re very similar they have the same philosophy,” he tells The Athletic in the warmth of the hotel lobby later the same day. He also stresses that the decision to leave north London was not “against” Arsenal, but rather a move in favour of Leverkusen.Īnd from a coaching perspective, the commonalities between Arteta and Alonso should ease the transition and ultimately suit him. Mikel Arteta, another player-turned-coach from San Sebastian, revived his Arsenal career and he speaks warmly of him and his impact. ![]() Seven years in the Premier League have conditioned him for the drill’s speed, and he cuts and snaps his passes with a steady, smooth rhythm that is undisturbed by all the frenetic energy.Īlonso was a significant factor in Xhaka’s decision to return to Germany. Granit Xhaka is at the heart of the session. They remained unbeaten between the end of February and the start of May, finishing sixth in the Bundesliga and reaching the semi-final of the Europa League.īayer’s mannequins at the foot of the Austrian Alps (Photo: The Athletic) They were more resilient without the ball and more purposeful and precise with it. The changes he instigated were not instant but, after the turn of the year, Leverkusen improved in nearly every area of their game. He inherited a team in October 2022 that was one place off the foot of the league table after eight games. ![]() This will be his first full season at Leverkusen. He barks instructions and encouragement and, when he sees something he doesn’t like, stops the drill to tell a player where they should have been or to whom the ball should have gone. Tackles knife in from everywhere, at impossible speed and at all angles.Īlonso talks to his players in English, German and Spanish. He needs players who can think as fast as electric current and this drill, with its whirling chaos, wouldn’t allow an amateur player so much as a touch. There are 20, maybe 25 players, all within a space a bit larger than a penalty area. It is two or three touches allowed and every outfield player is involved. On another pitch, Xabi Alonso stalks the sideline, prowling the edges of a possession drill. Bayer Leverkusen’s players prepare in the glorious setting (Photo: The Athletic)
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