Photo by JAVIER SORIANO/AFP via Getty Images

After enjoying a wonderful career in Europe, Xabi Alonso has enjoyed a decent start to his managerial stint at Bayer Leverkusen. He has won seven of his first 12 Bundesliga matches in charge, helping Leverkusen somehow keep up with the rest of the pack in the race for the top four places.

In a special appearance for the Coaches’ Voice, Alonso explained the success of his playing career that inspired him to take up a coaching career. During the show, he made a special mention of Cristiano Ronaldo and how easy it was to play with the Portuguese international.

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“Cristiano made everything very easy. I get the ball, I find him and he used to do his individual action to score,” Alonso said.

Formerly of Liverpool, Xavi Alonso played with Ronaldo at Real Madrid from 2009 to 2014. Incidentally, both players had joined the Spanish giants in the same window, along with two other footballing superstars in Karim Benzema and Kaka.

While Kaka was not as successful, the likes of Alonso and Ronaldo played a key role in Real Madrid’s success, with the duo even winning the Champions League together in 2014, under the leadership of Carlo Ancelotti.

Alonso eventually left Real Madrid in the summer of 2014, joining Bayern Munich in a deal worth €9 million. He played for the Bavarians for three years, featuring in 117 competitive matches before hanging up his boots in 2017.

Interestingly, Alonso began his coaching prospects with a stint at Real Madrid youth from 2018 to 2019. And given his early success at Bayer Leverkusen, it will not come as a surprise to see him being linked with the Real Madrid first-team job in the near future, especially with Carlo Ancelotti being subjected to a move to Brazil national team.

source:madriduniversal