O Chelsea announced this Sunday (17) the hiring of Xabi Alonso as the team’s new coach. The Spaniard signed a contract for four seasonsscheduled to start in July, and will have the mission of putting the London club back on the path to achievement after a turbulent season without titles.
Alonso’s arrival comes one day after , a result that ended the team’s last chances of winning a trophy this season.
“Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs in world football and I am extremely proud to become coach of this great club,” said Alonso in a statement released by the club.
“From the conversations I had with the ownership group and the sports management, it was clear that we shared the same ambition,” he added.
The 44-year-old coach arrives to try to stabilize the environment after a campaign marked by instability. During the season, Chelsea fired two coaches — Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior. Rosenior was released in April after a run of seven defeats in eight matches across all competitions.
With two rounds remaining in the Premier League, Chelsea are only in ninth place, although they still have a remote chance of securing a place in European competitions.
“We want to build a team capable of constantly competing at the highest level and fighting for titles,” declared Alonso.
The signing also marks the Spaniard’s return to English football. As a player, Alonso played 210 games for Liverpool before moving to Real Madrid in 2009. He later ended his career at Bayern Munich in 2017.
Consolidated career as a coach
After retiring, Alonso began his career as a coach in the youth teams and later commanded Real Sociedad’s B team.
He rose to prominence in charge of Bayer Leverkusen, a club he took over in 2022. Under his command, the team won the 2023-24 Bundesliga undefeatedin addition to the German Cup and a campaign to the Europa League final.
The success led Alonso back to Real Madrid as head coach. However, his time at the Spanish club would have been marked by internal tensions and disagreements with experienced players, including Federico Valverde and.
As a player for the Merengue club, Alonso played in 236 matches between 2009 and 2014, winning one LaLiga, two Copa del Rey and the tenth in the history of Real Madrid.
For the Spanish national team, he made 114 appearances and ended his international career with World Cup titles and two editions of the European Championship.
Chelsea seek stability
Alonso will be the fifth permanent coach hired since the BlueCo group took control of Chelsea. Before him, Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino, Maresca and .
The season began with Chelsea as Club World Cup champions, but, after a reasonable start, the campaign fell apart amid changes in coaching and protests from the fans.
Since taking over the club in 2022, the BlueCo group has invested 1.8 billion pounds in signings — around R$13.1 billion at current prices.
Even with the high investment, sporting results were below expectations. The group of fans “Not a Project” staged a protest against the club’s management ahead of the final played at Wembley on Saturday.
Now, it will be up to Alonso to try to rebuild the team and put Chelsea back among the protagonists of English football.
“There is a lot of talent in this squad and a huge potential at this club. Now the focus is on hard work, building the right culture and winning titles”, said the coach, who was also linked to a possible return to Liverpool.
Interim coach Calum McFarlane will remain in charge of the team until the end of the season. Chelsea’s next match will be at home, against Tottenham, in the Premier League, on Tuesday.
