On 19 August Real Madrid start their new La Liga campaign at home against Osasuna with Xabi Alonso in charge for his first league game. That would have seemed unthinkable only three years ago when he had just taken over at Bayer Leverkusen.
He admitted thinking: “What am I doing here? … Why did we hire this guy from Real Sociedad B?” but the Bundesliga side knew what they were doing. Within two years he had taken them to a historic double as well as the Europa League final. The 2023-24 league title was secured by going undefeated. Last season they finished second behind Bayern Munich – no mean feat – and on 25 May he was confirmed as Carlo Ancelotti’s replacement as manager for Los Blancos.
