Alonso Deserves A Statue, Says CEO

Carro lauds coveted Spaniard for his impact on Leverkusen; insists coach will stay put

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LEVERKUSEN - Asked if coach Xabi Alonso could one day be commemorated outside Bayer Leverkusen's BayArena home, club chief executive Fernando Carro said that "after last year, it's already enough for a statue".

Given the scope of the 2024 achievements, in which Alonso took Leverkusen to an unbeaten league and Cup double in Germany, Carro's tongue-in-cheek quip is believable.

Long known as "Neverkusen" for failing to win the Bundesliga with five second-placed finishes since 1997 and a loss to Real Madrid in the 2002 Champions League final, Alonso has changed the club forever.

Carro, who brought the Spaniard - who had never before coached a top-division side - to Leverkusen in 2022, now faces a battle to keep him.

When Leverkusen called Alonso in October 2022, they were sitting second last in the Bundesliga table, having fired previous coach Gerardo Seoane.

"We had the impression that we would need a change, a new impulse in the team," Carro said.