BERLIN (AP) — Xabi Alonso is waiting just like everyone else to see who will coach Real Madrid next season.
The Spanish coach said on Friday he knew “nothing new” about his future amid links to his former club, but that he understands why the uncertainty continues and no decisions have been made.
“I respect what happens in other clubs,” the Bayer Leverkusen coach said. “It’s not a situation that I need to talk about. I know that they’re at a stage in the season in which they’re still fighting for the championship, and we also have our goals. The season isn’t over, so we must wait.”
Alonso is widely expected to return to Madrid — where he played from 2009-14 — and take over if current coach Carlo Ancelotti departs at the end of the season. The 65-year-old Italian’s contract with Madrid runs for another season but he is being courted by the Brazilian Football Confederation after what has been a disappointing season so far for the Spanish powerhouse.
Madrid was eliminated by Arsenal in the Champions League quarterfinals, lost the Copa del Rey final to bitter rival Barcelona last weekend, and is trailing the Catalan club by four points with five rounds remaining in La Liga. They meet again in Barcelona on May 11.
Ancelotti has said he will remain with Madrid for as long as the club president Florentino Pérez wants him to stay. That will likely depend on his team’s remaining five league games.
Alonso, who took over Leverkusen when it was in the Bundesliga’s relegation zone in October 2022, led the team to an unprecedented German league and cup double last season. No other side has ever completed a Bundesliga season unbeaten.
A drop in performance levels was perhaps inevitable. Leverkusen was surprised by third-division team Arminia Bielefeld in the semifinals of the German Cup and looks set to watch Bayern Munich lift the league trophy on Saturday.
Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro and sporting director Simon Rolfes are keen for Alonso to see out his contract through next season. But they are also identifying possible replacements with Kicker magazine reporting on Friday that former Manchester United and Ajax coach Erik ten Hag has emerged as the favorite. The club has also been linked with former Barcelona coach Xavi.
“We haven’t spoken about that,” Alonso said of his possible successor. “We speak, Fernando is there. We spoke about a few issues in the morning and there’s always a good connection and communication. We’re all informed about everything and there’s never a problem for us. We’re staying calm. We’ll wait until the right moment until there’s something to decide.”
The 43-year-old coach added he isn’t concerning himself with any of the speculation.
“I’m staying calm. I know you’re expected to have something new at every press conference, but that’s not my job. It’s to prepare the team for every game. That’s all I can say.”
Leverkusen plays at Freiburg in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
