Xabi Alonso

Xabi Alonso is the young head coach of Bayer Leverkusen in the German Bundesliga. He took over just two years ago, and has the team on pace for an historic season, with a great chance to win the Bundesliga. His success has led to speculation about his appointment to some of the biggest jobs in Europe.

I thought his quotes here were very self-aware, intelligent and refreshing. There isn’t a lot of stability in college athletics these days, and it feels like great coaches are constantly being talked about for other jobs. And I totally get the idea of striking while the iron is hot, with the support, opportunity and money being difficult to turn down.

But how often does your development as a coach come into play in these situations? When do you hear about a coach saying “this is the best place for me to develop right now?”

When things move as fast as they are moving in college athletics today, what is actually best for you as a coach usually takes a back seat. And it shouldn’t.

Xabi Alonso has confirmed he will stay on as manager of Bayer Leverkusen for the 2024-25 season despite strong interest from some of Europe's biggest teams, including Bayern Munich and Liverpool, as he sees the club as the best place for him to continue his development as a coach.

"For sure all the decisions, you need to analyse well, and I tried to take the right ones, I tried to take the ones that come in a natural way, and at this moment I feel this is the right place for me to be to develop as a coach.

"I am a young coach, but I have to feel it, and right now I feel that this is the right place."

"It's a process, the development of the team is parallel with my development as a manager," he added. "This is my first complete season as a manager. I still have a lot of things to prove myself, to experience, and right now I have a situation in the club where I feel really stable, really happy with the team and the club."