In recent seasons, Real Madrid has become a breeding ground for some of the most promising young coaches in Europe. Zinedine Zidane started out as a youth coach, before becoming one of the successful managers in the club’s recent history.
Raul Gonzalez took a similar path as Zizou, and he is now showcasing his skills in charge of Real Madrid Castilla, who are having a fantastic season in Primera Federacion Group 1. Alvaro Arbeloa is having an equally successful season in charge of the club’s under-19 side.
Another former player that started his coaching career at Real Madrid was Xabi Alonso. In 2018, the 41-year-old’s first managerial venture was as the coach of the club’s under-14 side. One year later, he was poached by Real Sociedad, who appointed him as head coach of their B team.
Alonso has success in San Sebastian, and his great start to his managerial career has continued at Bayer Leverkusen, where he has been in charge since last October.
Although they couldn’t secure passage from the group stages of the Champions League, the German side are flying in the Europa League knockout rounds, with a quarter-final spot on the cards having won their last 16 first leg 2-0 against Ferencvaros.
Domestically, Leverkusen have improved. The Bundesliga table since Alonso’s arrival, as documented by FootballPlanet, shows them in fourth, having amassed 29 points in 16 matches. However, Leverkusen are still in a lowly ninth, 11 points off the Champions League places.
Alonso is being tipped as a Real Madrid head coach is the future, and he has done his chances of getting that job no harm during his stint so far in Germany.
