Though he has turned down the chance to manage Liverpool, there is still cause to applaud Xabi Alonso’s success as he wins the Bundesliga at Bayer Leverkusen.
Alonso was the primary candidate to return to Anfield and become manager this summer, but opted to reject all offers and stay at Leverkusen.
That came in a campaign that sees his side still unbeaten and, now, champions of the Bundesliga.
Sunday saw Leverkusen clinch the title with five games to spare, doing so in style as they thrashed Werder Bremen 5-0 at the BayArena.
Prodigious attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz scored a hat-trick and there were further goals from Victor Boniface and Granit Xhaka, pushing Leverkusen 16 points clear of Bayern Munich.
It means Alonso will lift the title in his first full season in charge at Leverkusen, with a chance for two more trophies in the Europa League and DFB-Pokal.
Leverkusen are still yet to lose in any competition, and lead West Ham 2-0 in the quarter-finals of the Europa League while they prepare for the DFB-Pokal final against Kaiserslautern.
Their five remaining fixtures in the Bundesliga come against Dortmund, Stuttgart, Eintracht Frankfurt, Bochum and Augsburg.
This triumph came on a day when, according to sporting director Clemens Fritz, ex-Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita refused to travel with Werder Bremen after learning he would not start.
Leverkusen had never before won the Bundesliga, with their only previous domestic title being the 2.Bundesliga in 1978/79.
The club’s only other honours came in the UEFA Cup (1987/88) and the DFB-Pokal (1992/93), though they reached the final of the Champions League in 2001/02 and finished second in the Bundesliga on five occasions.
It is claimed that Alonso has not closed the door on taking the Liverpool job in the future, but there may not be as straightforward an opportunity as this summer.
Fan Comments