German club Bayern Leverkusen has named former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso as the new coach for the club.
The announcement was made on Wednesday following the sack of Gerardo Seoane by the Bundesliga side.
AFP reported that Leverkusen confirmed the exit of the Swiss coach in the wake of Tuesday’s 2-0 loss at Porto in the Champions League which was one of the poor runs of form.
Seoane was fantastic last season as he guided the side to Champions League football with a third-placed finish but has failed to replicate the same as Leverkusen have struggled this campaign.
The club announced on Twitter that, “Bayer and Gerardo Seoane go their separate ways. World and European Champion Xabi Alonso becomes new head coach of the Werkself.”
As a player, Alonso won the 2010 World Cup and two European Championships with Spain. He was also part of the team that won the Champions League trophy with both Liverpool and Madrid.
Alonso had managed Real Sociedad’s reserve team in his home Basque region for three years until May, seeing them promoted to Spain’s second tier for the first time in 60 years, before they were relegated at the end of last season. (AFP)
