As a player, Xabi Alonso was a regulating element. Today Alonso is the coach of Bayer Leverkusen – and is happy to have someone who thinks similarly about football: Granit Xhaka. Bayern would also have use for him.
With the index finger of his left hand, Granit Xhaka pointed towards the corner flag, then raised both hands above his head as if he were taking a throw-in. To be on the safe side, he repeated both, once, twice, three times. In the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup against Stuttgart, stoppage time was already running when Leverkusen’s Xhaka told his teammate Edmond Tapsoba how to take a free kick deep in his own half.
Long forward, ideally towards the corner flag. And if in the end there was only a throw-in – that would be fine. Tapsoba followed the instructions, but he didn’t get to the corner flag. There was also no objection. A Stuttgart defender cleared the ball. Xhaka will not have held it against him, it was over shortly afterwards. Leverkusen had reached the semi-finals of the DFB Cup.
That had to do with the increase in performance of Florian Wirtz, who was initially unfortunate and then worked his magic. With Jonathan Tah’s header, which meant the winning goal. And with Xhaka. He hasn’t scored a goal this season or provided one; others are responsible for the spectacular in Leverkusen. Xhaka’s job is different. In a team that doesn’t lack enthusiasm and often plays spectacularly, he is the regulating element in the defensive midfield.
Every attack runs through Xhaka, 31, he sets the direction and also the pace. He is Leverkusen’s metronome. He is the player that the coach of the next opponent wanted so much.
A top game, that trend-setting is
On Saturday evening (February 10th, 2024), FC Bayern travels to Leverkusen for the top game of the Bundesliga (live from 6:20 p.m. in the radio report and in the live ticker of the Sportschau), the league leader welcomes the second. It will be the 31st competitive game of the season for Bayer Leverkusen. Coach Xabi Alonso’s team hasn’t lost yet. This is also why they are ahead of Bayern with 52 points from 20 league games (50 points). But they will also know in Leverkusen: Bayern can play top games.
The outcome of the championship will not be decided in this game, there are still 13 match days to follow. But the outcome of the game will set the tone. With a win, Bayern would overtake Leverkusen, but with a draw nothing would change. And if Leverkusen wins, they would be five points ahead. There would then be a lot to be said for a series ending. That after eleven years the champion once again comes from a city that is not Munich.
“Holding nothing”: Tuchel’s wish for six was not fulfilled
This scenario would be unfavorable for Thomas Tuchel as it would weaken his position as coach of FC Bayern Munich. Tuchel oversees a squad full of experts in Munich, including Harry Kane, Manuel Neuer, Leroy Sané and Joshua Kimmich. Nevertheless, Tuchel has recognized weaknesses and warned before this season. At the back he was missing a player who could defend on the right and inside. In the summer his wish went unheard, in the winter he was able to welcome two new arrivals in central defender Eric Dier and right-back Sacha Boey.
Tobi Schäfer, Sportschau Bundesliga Update, February 8, 2024 10:07 a.m
But the gap in midfield remained. Tuchel wanted a player for the “six”, a “holding six” – someone who provides structure in the center and who is concerned about counterattack protection. Kimmich and Leon Goretza, said Tuchel, were great footballers, but he prescribed their strengths elsewhere. He didn’t get what Tuchel called the “Holding Six”. The move of the Portuguese João Palhinha from Fulham FC failed shortly before the end of the summer transfer phase. “Holding nothing,” wrote the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”.
Even under pressure, Xhaka hardly makes any mistakes
Leverkusen had already signed a player like Tuchel missed in Munich. The club brought Xhaka from Arsenal FC in England. In a summer in which Bayer Leverkusen made important transfers, with Jonas Hofmann coming in for midfield, Victor Boniface in attack and the impressive Alejandro Grimaldo as a playmaking left-back, Xhaka was the most important signing.
Xhaka is not a “six player” who is primarily defined by the duels, but he still wins 57 percent. He runs more than any other player in the Bundesliga and is constantly on the ball, often having 120 touches of the ball or more in a game. He can play fine diagonal balls with his left foot, but only does so when it is effective.
Alonso says Xhaka thinks ‘like a second coach’
And Xhaka rarely plays bad passes, even under pressure. There are nice statistics for this. It counts how often a player can escape from pressure situations without losing the ball. Xhaka succeeds in this in 79 percent of all cases, which is the best in the Bundesliga. The best Bayern player follows in sixth place, it’s not Kimmich or Goretzka, it’s Aleksandar Pavlovic, 19. He is a great talent, but was only used in nine league games.
When Xhaka organizes Leverkusen’s game, it is very reminiscent of the times when Alonso was not yet a coach, but a strategist in midfield. It is then not unlikely that Xhaka will become a coach at some point. He’s already getting his A license. And once a week he leads training for the upper league team SC Union Nettetal.
Xhaka had not been in Leverkusen for long when coach Xabi Alonso was asked about his importance. Xhaka is the type of football he has in mind “fundamental” important, Alonso told the “SZ”. He influences the team “like a second coach”.