Jose Mourinho foresaw Xabi Alonso's ability to become a top-level manager when discussing the former Liverpool midfielder five years ago.
Alonso took his first steps in the coaching world back in 2018 when overseeing Real Madrid's under-14s side
An opportunity to take charge of Real Sociedad's B team then arose the following year and helped the club achieve promotion from the third tier in his second season at the club.
Bayer Leverkusen came calling in October 2022, with the club positioned in the relegation zone, and Alonso ended the campaign with an impressive turnaround of a sixth.-placed finish.
Extraordinary progress has been witnessed on the back of this as they now compete for the Bundesliga title head-to-head with Bayern Munich
Mourinho
"With Xabi Alonso, you always saw there was a manager there. Similarly to me, his father was a player. He grew up with a father who was a player then a manager, and then he became a player, of course much better than I was."
"His knowledge of the game was very high and then he played in Spain, England and Germany and was coached by Guardiola at Bayern, by myself in Real Madrid, by Ancelotti in Real Madrid and by Benitez in Liverpool.
"So if you put all that together, then I would say that Xabi has the conditions to be a very good coach."
Alonso and Mourinho went head-to-head during the semi-final stage of last season's Europa League as AS Roma edged out Leverkusen 1-0 over two legs
Alonso explained
"I have learned a lot from all my coaches and I have transformed it into my own personality as a coach who is starting out.
"Rafa (Benitez) is football, tactics: how to fit in, how to help, what to do... Pep (Guardiola) tells you: 'Let's play like this and this will happen'. He is very good at that,"
"From Mourinho, I highlight the strength and intelligence he has to communicate.
"From Luis (Aragones), I'd like to highlight his conviction and his ability to define what you wanted.
"Del Bosque taught me to worry about the things you have to worry about. Ancelotti stood out when it came to transmitting what good football is and what we had to do."
Alonso is the current favourite to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool
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