{"id":9073,"date":"2026-05-16T09:31:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T09:31:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=9073"},"modified":"2026-05-16T09:31:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T09:31:01","slug":"chelsea-stars-believe-xabi-alonso-is-the-only-man-who-can-save-the-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=9073","title":{"rendered":"Chelsea stars believe Xabi Alonso is the only man who can save the club"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Chelsea\u2019s players reportedly believe Xabi Alonso is the ideal candidate to become the club\u2019s next permanent manager.<\/p>\n

The former Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid manager has emerged as the leading contender to replace Liam Rosenior, who was dismissed last month after only 106 days in charge.<\/p>\n

No agreement has yet been finalised, but Alonso is the preferred option as the club looks to stabilise another turbulent managerial situation under the BlueCo ownership.<\/p>\n

Chelsea are still considering other candidates, including Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola, Fulham manager Marco Silva and Crystal Palace\u2019s Oliver Glasner.<\/p>\n

Former Flamengo coach Filipe Luis has also been discussed internally.<\/p>\n

However, there is a growing belief within Stamford Bridge that Alonso is now the standout candidate.<\/p>\n

Chelsea players strongly favour the 44-year-old due to his stature within the game and his ability to command authority.<\/p>\n

They reportedly feel the club needs a figure capable of handling strong personalities and restoring stability after another chaotic season.<\/p>\n

Alonso\u2019s playing career is viewed as a major advantage in that regard.<\/p>\n

The Spaniard won league titles across Spain, Germany and England while also lifting the Champions League with Liverpool and Real Madrid.<\/p>\n

He was also a key part of Spain\u2019s golden generation that won the World Cup and two European Championships between 2008 and 2012.<\/p>\n

Chelsea have admired Alonso\u2019s coaching work since he began his managerial career in Germany with Bayer Leverkusen in 2022.<\/p>\n

He guided the Bundesliga side to a league title in 2024 before later taking over at Madrid, where he struggled during a difficult spell that ended in January.<\/p>\n

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\"Euro<\/div>\n
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Despite that setback, Chelsea are convinced Alonso is capable of leading a rebuild at Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n

The Spaniard is believed to want assurances over transfer involvement and wider sporting decisions before accepting any role.<\/p>\n

Chelsea\u2019s recruitment structure is expected to remain in place, although the club reportedly recognise Alonso would need significant influence.<\/p>\n

There is also a belief inside Chelsea that Alonso\u2019s arrival would improve morale after the uncertainty following Enzo Maresca\u2019s departure and Rosenior\u2019s brief spell.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chelsea\u2019s players reportedly believe Xabi Alonso is the ideal candidate to become the club\u2019s next…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9074,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9073\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}