Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski believes Xabi Alonso is a good coach and can lead Real Madrid to success. The former Bayer Leverkusen manager was appointed as Los Blancos‘ head coach in May, after the club sacked Carlo Ancelotti following an underwhelming 2024-25 season.
Alonso proved his mettle as a top manager by guiding Leverkusen to their first-ever Bundesliga title in 2024. The Bay Arena outfit won the league, going unbeaten. They also won the DFB Pokal and finished as runners-up in the Europa League that season.
The 43-year-old manager has now been handed the reins at the Santiago Bernabeu. Alonso will be saddled with the responsibility of taking Real Madrid back to their best after a disappointing season, which saw them bested on all fronts by rivals Barcelona.
Madrid finished four points behind the reigning LaLiga champions and were beaten in all four of their meetings with La Blaugrana last season. This includes defeats in the Supercopa de España and Copa del Rey finals.
Lewandowski believes Alonso is the right man for the job at the Santiago Bernabeu. He told Mundo Deportivo, as quoted by Madrid Xtra on X:
Xabi Alonso will have his first task as Real Madrid manager when they compete in the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup in the United States. The Spanish giants have been grouped alongside Al-Hilal, RB Salzburg, and Pachuca.
Meanwhile, Lewandowski and Alonso shared the dressing room at Bayern Munich for three seasons between 2014 and 2017. They played together 111 times, recording one joint-goal contribution.
Robert Lewandowski joined Barcelona in 2022 from Bayern Munich, signing a three-year deal for a reported £42.5 million. Since then, the Pole has upheld his status as one of Europe’s most prolific strikers, scoring 101 goals and providing 20 assists in 143 appearances for the Catalan club.
Lewandowski has featured in nine El Clásicos across competitions since his move to Barca, recording five goals and three assists against Real Madrid. In the recently concluded campaign, Lewandowski scored a brace in his side’s 4-0 win at the Santiago Bernabeu, but was an unused substitute in the return fixture in May, which they won 4-3.
A Chelsea fan, Okenna had his first tryst with Blues in 2006, after fellow countryman John Mikel Obi joined the west London club. He was immediately drawn to the brilliance of players like Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, John Terry and Didier Drogba.
Okenna is a huge fan of Lionel Messi for his exceptional talent. He also admires Jose Mourinho for his achievements with various clubs which proves he’s a tactical and disciplined manger as well as a serial winner.
Some of Okenna’s prospective career landmarks include working as an international journalist and covering a FIFA World Cup game live from the stadium. When not writing, he loves watching, movies and reading books.
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