BERLIN: When Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso takes on Jose Mourinho’s Roma on Thursday, he will face not only his former mentor, but the man who predicted his future coaching success.
Alonso played 151 games under Mourinho at Real Madrid from 2010 to 2013, winning several titles before the Portuguese returned to Chelsea.
Asked in 2019 about which of his former players could make a successful transition to coaching, Mourinho, who started his management career working with youngsters in the late 1980s, gave a clear answer. “I would say Xabi Alonso,” Mourinho told a Top Eleven conference. “He grew up with a father who was a player and a manager.
Then he became a player; of course much better than I was. “Then he became a player, a top player, his position on the pitch and his knowledge of the game (was) very high. “He was coached by (Pep) Guardiola at Bayern, by myself at Real Madrid, by (Carlo) Ancelotti at Real Madrid, by (Rafael) Benitez at Liverpool. “I think if you put all of this together, I think Xabi has the conditions to be a very good coach.” Despite Mourinho’s predictions coming true, it is unlikely he forecast such a crucial meeting with his former protege would come around so soon.