Alonso takes over as Real’s coach and vows to follow in the footsteps of Ancelotti

Former footballer Xavi Alonso

Xabi Alonso officially took over Real Madrid’s coaching job yesterday, vowing to follow in the footsteps of Carlo Ancelotti and saying he has “a good feeling” about the team’s future under his command.

Madrid announced the hiring of Alonso on Sunday, a day after the club paid tribute to Ancelotti at the team’s final Spanish league match of the season at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Ancelotti is taking over the Brazil job after four mostly successful seasons in his second stint with the club.

“I’m here to take over from Carlo Ancelotti, who was my coach and is a great person,” Alonso said. “He is a coach who left his mark on me and had a great influence. Without his guidance, I probably wouldn’t be here. I’ll pick up his legacy with pride and honor of now being in the position that Carlo was before, and I hope to live up to the expectations and lead this club to achieve all of its objectives.”

He said he will try to instil his own style at Madrid, but did not give many hints about his tactics. He emphasized the desire to play ambitiously and with a proactive attitude.

“You have to be flexible in soccer today, you have to be dynamic,” Alonso said. “I can move pieces during a game or before a game. I have an idea already of what I’m going to do, but it can change. What I want is for the team to transmit emotion, energy, to show that we want to be ambitious.”

Alonso said it felt good returning home to Madrid, where he won six titles as a player from 2009-2014.

“Without a doubt this is a very special day for me,” Alonso said. “I’m very happy to be at a place where I feel is my home. I may have been a few years away, but the link with Real Madrid and Madrid fans has always existed.”

The ceremony to introduce Alonso began with the showing of a video with some of Alonso’s highlights as a player for Madrid, Spain and other clubs where he played as a midfielder. There were also highlights of his stints as a coach at Madrid’s youth squads, Real Sociedad’s “B” team and with Bayer Leverkusen, which he left after this season.

The 43-year-old Alonso, who arrives on a contract until June 2028, watched the video alongside his wife and other invitees.

“Today is a very special day for all of us, it’s the start of a new phase,” Madrid president Florentino Pérez said. “Because we have a new coach who already is one of the best in the world and who represents the values of Real Madrid because he knows exactly what this shield and this shirt means.”

Alonso is returning to Real Madrid to take over a club that failed to meet expectations this season. It won the UEFA Super Cup title but mostly struggled after that, failing to lift another trophy and losing all four “clásico” matches against rival Barcelona, which clinched a league and cup double.

“We have a great team, with fantastic players,” Alonso said. He won’t have a lot of time to get the team prepared, though, as the Club World Cup begins in June. TALES AZZONI, MADRID, MDT/AP