Xabi Alonso was confirmed as Chelsea’s new manager the day after their FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City.
Chelsea’s FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City , stepping in as a permanent replacement for Liam Rosenior, who was dismissed on April 23 after less than four months in charge.in January, bringing an end to a brief tenure that lasted just seven months into a three-year contract he signed the previous summer.
His appointment follows a rapid rise in management, most notably at Bayer Leverkusen, where he guided the club to their first-ever Bundesliga title in 2023–24 while completing an unbeaten domestic campaign. He made an immediate impact at Real Madrid, winning 10 of his first 11 La Liga matches—including a Clásico victory—but ultimately fell short in the title race, finishing behind Barcelona and also losing the Spanish Super Cup final to them.
For Chelsea supporters, however, Alonso is not only a name associated with coaching success but also a familiar figure from his playing days. The Spanish midfielder spent five seasons in theAlonso played against Chelsea numerous times during his career. | IMAGO/Ulmer Xabi Alonso faced Chelsea no fewer than 20 times during his playing career, all while representing Liverpool.
Nine of those matches came in the Premier League, where he won three times, while eight took place in the Champions League, a competition that regularly paired Liverpool and Chelsea in tightly contested knockout ties throughout the 2000s. In Europe, Alonso managed just one victory against Chelsea, that coming in the 2006–07 Champions League semifinal second leg, when Liverpool progressed after a penalty shootout.
, during the dramatic 2008–09 quarterfinal second leg at Stamford Bridge, which finished 4–4, with Chelsea advancing after their 3–1 first-leg win. Alonso also featured against Chelsea in one domestic cup final during his career—the 2006 Community Shield, which Chelsea won 2–1. He was not involved when the two sides met in the 2005 League Cup final due to injury. Barnaby Lane is a highly experienced sports writer who has written for The Times, FourFourTwo Magazine, TalkSPORT, and Business Insider.
Over the years, he's had the pleasure of interviewing some of the biggest names in world sport, including Usain Bolt, Rafael Nadal, Christian Pulisic, and more.
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