Former Real Madrid star Xabi Alonso appointed Bayer Leverkusen manager

Bayer Leverkusen announced on Wednesday that they have sacked Gerardo Seoane and appointed Xabi Alonso as their new manager. He has signed a two-year contract with the German club. Leverkusen has only one of their eight games in the Bundesliga this season and sits 17th in the table.

"I know Leverkusen as an outstanding club from my time in Germany. Bayer 04 always had great players and I see a lot of quality in the current squad,"

said Alonso.

"In my discussions with the club it quickly became clear that ambitious targets are still the aim in spite of the current difficult situation. This job really attracts me and I'm sure we can live up to expectations."

Leverkusen’s Sporting director Simon Rolfes told the club's official website:

"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 extremely successful in three of the most demanding European leagues.”

Alonso started his coaching career with Real Madrid's youth team and in 2019 was appointed as Real Sociedad B manager. He left them at the end of the last season.

The 40-year-old Alonso was linked with a manager role at Borussia Mönchengladbach last year but he decided to stay at Sociedad.

Alonso played for Sociedad,

,

, and

. He won the Champions League as a player with Liverpool and Real Madrid. The Spanish midfielder also was part of the team that won the World Cup in 2010.

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