Xabi Alonso named Real Madrid manager: Grading Carlo Ancelotti's replacement tasked with besting Barcelona

Real Madrid officially named Xabi Alonso as the team's new manager on Sunday, with Alonso signing a three-year deal to complete his much-awaited return to a club with which he had a storied playing career. Alonso will be officially introduced on Monday at the club's training ground, taking the job in time for their preparations for the newly expanded version of the Club World Cup. His first game in charge will be Real Madrid's group stage opener against Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal on June 18, while matches against Pachuca on June 22 and RB Salzburg on June 26 will follow.

The new manager succeeds Carlo Ancelotti, who officially took the Brazil job earlier this month. Ancelotti's departure for Brazil had been likely for several months, making Alonso the heir apparent for the Real Madrid job for the better part of a year.

Alonso is one of the sport's top rising managerial talents and really made a name for himself at Bayer Leverkusen, especially so after winning the Bundesliga and the DFB Pokal last season. In his nearly three-year stint in Germany, the 43-year-old transformed Leverkusen from a relegation contender to a title winner in a matter of months, a run that included one semifinal run in the UEFA Europa League and a spot in the final.

The new manager has plenty of history at Real Madrid, the club where he spent the majority of his playing career. Alonso played 236 matches for Los Blancos, winning one La Liga title and one UEFA Champions League title, the latter prize coming during Ancelotti's first stint at the club. Alonso also started his managerial career with Real Madrid, coaching the U-14 team in 2018 while he was completing his licenses.

A perfect fit for a new landscape

In many ways, it feels like the sport is in a period of managerial transition – well-established coaches like Ancelotti and Jurgen Klopp are taking a break from the demands of leading Europe's top clubs, paving the way for the next generation of managerial talents to rise up the ranks. Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Manchester United all made their bets on who the next elite managers will be by hiring Arne Slot, Vincent Kompany and Ruben Amorim, respectively, and now it is Real Madrid's turn to make their pick, likely landing the best young coach in the game in the process.

Many of these rising managerial talents have won important silverware before their big moves, like Slot did in the Netherlands with Feyenoord and Amorim in Portugal with Sporting Lisbon. Alonso, though, leads the way amongst his counterparts – he is the only one to win titles in one of Europe's top five leagues, doing so with an attack-minded style of play that made his Leverkusen teams one of the most entertaining sides in Europe. He made the most of the team's existing talent, too, including midfielder Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong.

That résumé makes Alonso a good fit to solve Real Madrid's issues, though the task in front of him is a large one after a season in which they played second-best to Barcelona. His first priority will be finding a way to make an attacking group led by Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior click, though Los Blancos have been plagued with issues all across the pitch. Their defense was wobbly at times this season, partly due to an injury crisis, while their midfield may need some work now that Luka Modric will also leave the club.

A lot of Real Madrid's success next season will depend on their transfer window strategy, but Alonso has a big job ahead of him. The pressures of his new gig will be different than anything he has faced before as a manager but there comes a time when every young manager has to make the next step and Alonso is as well-poised as anyone to make a jump like this one.

Grade: A