Chelsea has appointed former coach of Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid, Xabi Alonso, with a 4-year contract starting from July 1, 2026.
The former midfielder who played for Real Sociedad, Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid only stayed in his position for 233 days as head coach at the Bernabeu. This raises the question of whether Chelsea is making a risky gamble with the Spanish strategist or not.
Let's look back 12 months ago, when Alonso announced his departure from Bayer Leverkusen. At that time, the 44-year-old strategist was considered one of the most promising young coaches in Europe, while Real Madrid believed they had found the next "big star" on the coaching bench.
Alonso has an impressive record both as a player and as a coach. He has won the World Cup and Champions League for Liverpool and Real Madrid, and created a miracle by helping Bayer Leverkusen end Bayern Munich's dominance with a Bundesliga and German Cup double in the 2023-2024 season with an unbeaten record.
However, the turbulent period of 6 months at Real Madrid left a big question mark in Alonso's coaching career. However, Chelsea still believes that they are appointing one of the best young strategists in European football today.
Chelsea's leadership once made a shortlist including Alonso, Andoni Iraola of Bournemouth and Marco Silva of Fulham in the process of finding a replacement for Liam Rosenior.
Rosenior was sacked after only 106 days of leading Chelsea, even though he was newly brought in from his partner club Strasbourg in BlueCo's multi-club system. Sources say Chelsea's board of directors considers the appointment of Rosenior a big mistake and also an important lesson. What they learned is that the team needs an experienced and proven coach to maximize the potential of the young players.
Since BlueCo/Clearlake Capital took over Chelsea in May 2022, the London team has continuously made unstable decisions on the coaching bench. Thomas Tuchel - who was appointed under the old owner - was sacked at the beginning of the 2022-2023 season and replaced by Graham Potter. However, Potter also only stayed in office for 7 months despite signing a long-term contract.
Frank Lampard then returned in an interim role before Mauricio Pochettino was appointed in the summer of 2023. However, the Argentine coach also left the team after only one year due to disagreements related to transfer work.
Maresca was appointed in May 2024 after helping Leicester promote to the Premier League. Despite winning the UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup, the Italian strategist was still sacked in January 2026 due to controversies related to player transfers.
Rosenior continues to be another inexperienced option expected to lead Chelsea's young team. However, after the defeat under the 41-year-old coach, the London team realized that class and experience still play a key role.
At the age of 44, Alonso is still not a seasoned coach, but The Blues are forced to act quickly to avoid the risk of Liverpool approaching the former Spanish midfielder in case Arne Slot leaves Anfield.
Chelsea believes they have a coach of sufficient class to shape the summer transfer plan, and at the same time lay the foundation for the team's rebuilding process. Alonso wants Chelsea to change its recruitment strategy by adding many players who have proven their ability, instead of just focusing on young talents. This is a direction that has cost the club more than 2 billion pounds in recent years but has not brought about a corresponding effect.
Chelsea's leadership is also said to have clearly recognized the importance of adding experience to the current young and unstable squad. In addition, Alonso wants his voice to have a greater weight in the process of building and developing the team - something that neither Pochettino nor Maresca had before.
Although Chelsea still maintains a management model with the participation of sports directors, data department and medical team, Alonso is said to have greater control than any other coach under BlueCo.
