Xabi Alonso has weighed up the personalities of Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho and says their football is different, but they’re otherwise similar.
Alonso plays under Guardiola at Bayern Munich but spent time with Mourinho at Real Madrid, AS reporting an interview with Jorge Valdano and Bein Sports in which he compared the rival Coaches.
“There are things, football things, in which Mourinho and Guardiola are very different, but there are things in their personality I see as similar,” AS reports Alonso saying.
“Mourinho is 100% competitive and wants to win. He stirred up the players, the club, the fans and changed things in addition to making us compete. He squeezes out what he doesn’t like to get what he wants.”
Alonso also played under Carlo Ancelotti while at Santiago Bernabeu and had warm words for the trainer who will succeed Guardiola at Bayern when he goes to Manchester City.
“With Ancelotti there is fondness because he is someone who endears. He’s a club man, very much of the locker room and he doesn’t give importance to things that don’t require it,” Alonso said.
He also commented on a former Madrid teammate, Luka Modric, and shared his assessment of the Real Madrid fans.
“He has what I don’t have. The pass, the play between the lines and he can conduct the play,” Alonso said of the Croatia international.
“The fans? Madrid fans don’t give praise, but the best ovations I’ve heard have been at the Bernabeu.”
Bayern could yet face Barcelona in the latter stages of the Champions League with both sides holding first leg leads, a prospect Alonso has considered.
“They have a great team. They have three forwards who can be decisive. They’re very difficult to control,” he noted.
