Xabi Alonso returns to Liverpool as master coach of Bayer Leverkusen
Xabi Alonso has already lifted the Bundesliga, DFB Cup and Supercup as Bayer Leverkusen coach. While he won countless honours before that as a player with Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, his return to Anfield in the UEFA Champions League rekindles memories of the most magical night in his playing career.
There are no direct parellels between a single match of football and a long coaching spell, but there is one thing that connects Liverpool trailing 3-0 to AC Milan at half-time in the 2004/05 Champions League final and Bayer Leverkusen dwindling in 17th in the Bundesliga table in October 2022: the sheer determination of Alonso to make a complete success of a perilous situation.
Having to look back on Jerzy Dudek's goal to see the ball nestled in the Liverpool net three times in the first half marked a terrible start to the big night in Istanbul. Only three times before in Champions League/ European Cup history had a single-legged final been decided by a greater margin than three goals, putting the Reds well on course for a defeat of record proportions.
A change had to be made. Dietmar Hamann came on for Steve Finnan and slotted into defensive midfield alongside Alonso. The introduction of the bustling former Bayern and Germany middle man freed Alonso up to take his classy passing ability further forward and try to inspire a comeback that almost nobody believed was possible.
With the tenacious box-to-box operator Steven Gerrard willing to dart forward and get onto the end of Alonso's probing passes, the tables were turned entirely on Milan's masterful midfield, with artful attacking midfielder Kaka forced to drop back and try to soak up Alonso's ambition, a role he was not naturally comfortable with.
Alonso may have been just 23 at the time, but he was already showing the kind of leadership that would later make him a Bundesliga legend as a player and coach, making a signal of Liverpool's intent in the 51st minute by sending a searing shot from 35 yards out just wide of Dida's goal.
Just three minutes after Alonso's ambitious strike, Gerard headed in a crisp cross from John Arne Riise to get Liverpool on the scoresheet and send a jolt of belief among Alonso and his teammates that the impossible was on. A startled Milan side had the ball in their net again almost immediately after kicking off when Vladimír Šmicer sunk a long-range strike.
With Milan on the ropes, Liverpool launched another attack and Steven Gerrard was brought down in the box for a penalty. Alonso with his old head on young shoulders was entrusted with the task of completing the seven-minute comeback from the spot as an astonished crowd of 69,000 spectators looking on. Milan goalkeeper Dida saved the Spaniard's penalty, but Alonso was there to sink the rebound and put Liverpool back on level terms.
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Chances at either end came and went in the remaining 60 minutes of regular and extra time, but having snatched the momentum back on their side in the most dramatic way possible, destiny seemed firmly on the side of Alonso and Liverpool. Dudek's wobbly legs and two saves did the rest in the penalty shootout.
"This is the best moment in my professional career. I am a European champion, and I cannot believe it," said a delighted Alonso during the wild post-match celebrations after Liverpool got their hands on ol' big ears for the first time in the Champions League era.
Watch: Xabi Alonso's first 100 games at Bayer Leverkusen
'Destiny' is a difficult word to use in football, where successes are hard-earned over countless hours on the training ground and pitch, yet it was a word deployed plenty of times in the 2023/24 season as Leverkusen completed a legendary charge to the Bundesliga title with Alonso at the helm, despite the retired midfielder having no prior experience of first-team coaching.
His management feats can perhaps be compared to the 'Miracle of Istanbul', in that they both came in two parts.
Firstly, Alonso had to pick up a side that had made a disastrous start to the 2022/23 season, instill confidence in his charges and claw back lost pride - by taking them up to a sixth-placed finish and into the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League, thanks to a 14-match unbeaten spell between February and April.
Leverkusen in some ways mirrored Liverpool's magical seven minutes in 2005 in Alonso's debut campaign, by showing over a seven-month period that they could not only comfortably survive in the Bundesliga, but thrive and push for honours.
Secondly, it took a masterful operator in Alonso's old role of deep-lying playmaker to turn Leverkusen from a talented collective in 2022/23 to bona fide title contenders. Granit Xhaka slotted in immediately during summer 2023 and took Leverkusen to the next level with an astonishing 93 percent pass completion over the season - the second-best figure in the league.
And if there is a figure akin to the role of old head on young shoulders that Alonso took in Liverpool's 2005 triumph, perhaps it was Florian Wirtz. A more skillful and attacking player than Alonso, Wirtz's 22 goal involvements (11 goals and 11 assists apiece) were vital in propelling Leverkusen to an unprecedented unbeaten title win, with his hat-trick against Werder Bremen on the day the club secured their first-ever league honour recreating the kind of true sporting heaven that Alonso savoured in Istanbul.
Watch: Bayer Leverkusen - champions at last!
Alonso's unassuming determination shone on the pitch in the 2005 final, and rubbed off on his players in remarkable style throughout their title run. The never-say-die attitude of his charges brought them an astonishing 42 goals in the 80th minute or later between the time Alonso took charge and the time they had lifted the German Bundesliga-DFB Cup double at the end of 2024/25.
Numerous stoppage-time goals claimed vital wins or salvaged a stunning unbeaten streak that became a new European record of 51 matches unbeaten in all competitions, before the run ended - and with it the prospect of a continental treble - at the hands of Atalanta in the Europa League final.
Xhaka said towards the end of that streak that his conversations with Alonso had discovered the secret to his determination. “It’s about having this mindset to be calm, even if you are down in a game. They are the small details if you want to compete with the top teams. You need to be calm if you're not playing well and believe you can get a result when you’re down in a game."
Watch: Better Late than Neverkusen
The net result in 2024 - just like in 2005 - was Alonso lifting a trophy aloft; three in fact after Bayer added the Supercup to their collection.
The story will now come full circle as Alonso returns to Liverpool as Leverkusen coach in an eagerly awaited clash as he seeks to inspire his side to heroics in the very competition he celebrated his most glorious moment in a red shirt - the Champions League.
With both sides unbeaten so far in the league stage, a spectacular clash could well be in store. However the game pans out, Liverpool fans, after they have shown their appreciation for their returning hero, will be well aware not to write an Alonso team off at any stage.
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