Xabi Alonso to establish a winning philosophy at Leverkusen

announced on Wednesday that they have sacked Gerardo Seoane and appointed the former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder,

as their new manager. Leverkusen has only one of their eight games in the

Bundesliga

this season and sits 17th in the table.

Alonso has long been seen as one of the most highly-rated prospects among Spanish coaches. Being asked what he has learned from his former coaches, Pep Guardiola, Rafa Benitez, and Jose Mourinho, the Basque manager told

:

“The first lesson that I learned from them is that the players need to follow you, they need to believe in what they are doing, they need to know that they are improving with you coaching, with your help.”

Expanding his philosophy the former

coach wants to establish a winning mentality in Leverkusen.

“We want to play modern football. That means: intensity with and without the ball, being more active than passive and with a strong mentality. The team has to know how we want to play. Dominant, intense, controlled, with a winning mentality and that should be from the first kick-off until the final whistle. I will try to give the players clear instructions and ideas,”

Alonso said

.

Leverkusen dismissed

Seoane

after their 2-0 loss to Porto, which was followed by a 4-0 Bundesliga defeat to Bayern. Despite securing a place in the top six through the last five seasons, the team now is in relegation danger as they will face

this weekend.

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