Xabi Alonso :: Xabier Alonso Olano

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Honours
2011/2012

2013/2014

Xabier Alonso Olano (Basque: , Spanish: ; born 25 November 1981) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who is currently the head coach of Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. He is regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation and is known for his exceptional passing range. Alonso is also considered to be one of the best young managers in the world. Alonso began his career at Real Sociedad, the main team of his home province Gipuzkoa. After a brief loan period at Eibar, he was appointed as team captain of Real Sociedad and finished runner-up in La Liga in 2002–03 season. He moved to Liverpool in 2004 for £10.5 million and won the UEFA Champions League in his first season, scoring in the Final. He later won the FA Cup and the FA Community Shield. Alonso moved to Real Madrid in 2009 in a deal worth £30 million and won La Liga, two Copas del Rey, and another Champions League. He joined German club Bayern Munich in 2015 and won three Bundesliga titles, including a domestic double in his second season, and retired in 2017. He made his international debut for Spain in April 2003 and went onto win Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup, and Euro 2012. Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License - Full article