The inside story on how Chelsea appointed Xabi Alonso | OneFootball

BlueCo's biggest signing has prompted change upstairs and on the pitch in the hope it starts an evolution

The chain of events that brought Xabi Alonso to Chelsea began before it was even clear Liam Rosenior’s disaster reign would end prematurely.

Form and confidence had been plummeting for weeks. Chelsea’s owners, who had been so convinced in January that Rosenior’s compelling communication and Strasbourg’s stellar results would translate at Stamford Bridge, were giving the young Englishman time but could see which way the wind was blowing.

As the defeats piled up, they got their heads together and began to plot. The recruitment process to hire Rosenior’s successor officially began after his sacking, following that dreadful 3-0 defeat at Brighton, yet dialogue about what sort of profile should come next was already underway.

This bruising season has already convinced Chelsea to deviate somewhat away from their youth-focused transfer strategy this summer. They will hire some experienced heads with leadership qualities. They accepted, after Rosenior, that a change of profile was needed in the dugout, too.

The first ‘manager’ of the BlueCo era is also the biggest name the club have signed — player or coaching staff — since Thomas Tuchel

In the club statement confirming Rosenior’s sacking, the following fascinating words: “As the club works to bring stability to the head coach position, we will undertake a process of self-reflection to make the right long-term appointment.”

The solution, in the “head coach position”, was not to have one. Xabi Alonso will instead be ‘manager’. He did not ask for that title; it was Chelsea’s initiative — to grant him more power, to try something new. Club insiders call it the next step in Chelsea’s evolution.

A dynasty like Mikel Arteta’s at Arsenal appeals. The first ‘manager’ of the BlueCo era is also the biggest name the club have signed — player or coaching staff — since Thomas Tuchel, who was the final managerial appointment of the Roman Abramovich empire. Securing Alonso is a coup. On a four-year deal, even more so.

Chelsea spoke to up to six candidates as they searched for Rosenior’s successor. Premier League-proven Andoni Iraola, Oliver Glasner and Marco Silva were all candidates, as was former Chelsea defender Filipe Luis, who recently impressed at Flamengo.

Yet Alonso was the frontrunner throughout the process, partly due to his stature within the game, which included a glittering playing career with Liverpool, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Spain, and double-winning success in charge of his magnificent 2023-24 Bayer Leverkusen team.

Xabi Alonso has already proven himself as a title-winning manager

Getty

Initial talks went well; then Chelsea’s directors met Alonso in London last week. He sought assurances. But this was more about logistics and the views of the five sporting directors, all of whom were involved in his hire, rather than a power grab from the Spaniard. Both sides concluded their visions were aligned.

Alonso will have a big say on signings, more so than any BlueCo head coach who came before him. It will be a collaborative approach, alongside the data-driven processes that Chelsea have no plans to rip up. They were impressed when he majored on the importance of players’ mentality. The current crop of Chelsea players have been much-maligned on that note, so the club’s recruitment team were inevitably impressed with the way Alonso spoke about the need for a harmonious, winning environment.

They expect him to build an excellent culture, not just a winning team. Chelsea believe he will demand high daily standards from players and command their respect naturally.

The 44-year-old knew he had plenty of leverage, not just because he was the favoured candidate throughout. Chelsea feel they have learned lessons from key decision-making errors over the past few years, but also that the squad is not far from really challenging the best sides on the continent. It's a sentiment with which Alonso agrees.

Alonso was hurt by how quickly Real Madrid sacked him. A record of 24 wins from 34 games did not prevent him being pushed out by the dressing room after only seven months in charge. BlueCo had a rare opportunity to lock down one of the most highly rated managers in the game if they struck while the iron was hot. More synonymous with one of their great rivals, Liverpool, and undervalued, perhaps, by Real Madrid, Chelsea have swooped decisively.

His tactics appealed to the owners. While it is true he has often used 3-4-2-1, like with his eye-catching Leverkusen team, suggestions he is wedded to it are wrong. A quote from 2014 is illuminating.

Todd Boehly (right) and co-owner Behdad Eghbali (left)

PA

“Nowadays, as I see football, each successful team must be comfortable playing with three systems — at least,” Alonso said. “They need to adapt, depending on the circumstances. It isn’t about not being loyal to your identity. No.” Granit Xhaka, who played under Alonso at Leverkusen, has backed his former manager’s claims.

Alonso places his stock not in the system, but in key tenets: dominating possession and swarming the opponent on the counter-press to immediately regain the ball when it is lost.

It became clear an hour or two after Chelsea’s FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City on Saturday that a deal had been struck and Alonso was their man.

“The fact the Xabi Alonso news has dropped now after losing an FA Cup final stinks of a PR move,” former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole said. True or not, the appointment certainly drowned out the disappointment.

Alonso’s backroom staff is being finalised. He starts work on July 1 and his first game is during their pre-season tour of Hong Kong and Australia, but an unveiling in London is planned for before the squad departs.

Reece James, in the bowels of Wembley, lamented after Chelsea’s fourth FA Cup final defeat in a row: “The key thing would probably be stability. It's super difficult to chop and change in-season. [Stability] is probably one of the key things we need as a collective.”