Xabi Alonso has been appointed as the new Bayer Leverkusen manager after the club sacked Gerardo Seoane. Bayer Leverkusen lost to Porto by two goals during the third match of the group stage, although they won their game against Atletico Madrid.
The Bundesliga club announced on Wednesday that they had “parted ways” with Seaone.
Xabi Alonso has signed a contract until June 2024, as he had been out of work since leaving Real Sociedad B in May after a successful three years in charge.
Leverkusen is second from bottom in the German league with just five points from the opening eight rounds, which means that they are in the relegation zone.
Alonso enjoyed a stellar playing career, making 114 appearances for Spain and helping it win the World Cup in 2010 and the European Championship titles in 2008 and 2012.
The former Real Sociedad player won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005 and Real Madrid in 2014. He helped Bayern Munich to three straight Bundesliga titles between 2015 and 2017
In a statement, Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes said:
“In Xabi Alonso, we have signed a coach who, as a player, was an absolute world-class professional for many years, an intelligent strategist, and very successful in three of the most demanding European leagues.”
“Gerardo Seoane did good work for Bayer 04 over the past year and a half, especially with the excellent qualification for the Champions League. Unfortunately, we have strayed from the road to success.”
Seoane led Leverkusen to third place in the Bundesliga last season after joining from Swiss team Young Boys in 2021.
Alonso is regarded as one of the more talented managerial talents coming through. He was closely linked with Borussia Moenchengladbach in recent years and it appears the Bundesliga values him as highly, if not higher, than those in Spain