Having been officially unveiled as the new Chelsea manager back in July, Xabi Alonso has now had over two months with his new squad.
The Spaniard arrived at Stamford Bridge with his coaching career at something of a crossroads. So impressive at Bayer Leverkusen, who he guided to a first ever German Bundesliga title, Alonso’s big move to Real Madrid ended after barely six months.
Real had lost ground to Barcelona in La Liga, while there were reports that Alonso had struggled to deal with some of the bigger personalities in his squad, such as Vinicius Jr, who it’s rumoured he fell out with on more than one occasion.
Alonso inherited a Chelsea squad in a state of flux after last season’s tenth place finish, with the likes of World Cup finalists Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella plus Andrey Santos sold this summer.
Others returned from the World Cup after one of the most emotional summers of their professional careers, with Reece James and Malo Gusto left to pontificate on semi-final defeats.
Alonso’s appointment felt like an opportunity for him to reset and get back to basics as a head coach, while for Chelsea it’s a chance to enjoy the fruits of a manager that has already earned rave reviews in his relatively short career to date.
So what can Chelsea fans expect from Alonso in terms of playing style, tactics and man management for the rest of this season?
Three Is the Magic Number
One of the most obvious changes that Chelsea supporters have already seen is a regular switch to Alonso’s favoured 3-4-2-1 shape.
He tried to retain Real Madrid’s classic 4-3-3 style set-up last season, but inverted one of the full backs in possession to revert to his preferred 3-2-5 structure when attacking.
Of course, success did not easily follow at the Bernabeu, so it is no surprise to see Alonzo go back to what worked so successfully at Leverkusen.
It’s a formation that is new to Chelsea and many of his players, however Alonso started the season with this shape against Fulham, Brighton and Arsenal despite having a squad packed with wingers who may struggle to adapt to a system that heavily revolves around central play.
Chelsea’s 4-2-3-1 variation played under Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior was employed by Alonzo in the League Cup against Luton and again at home last week in the 2-2 draw with Hull.
Chelsea fans should remember that he’s been employed to deliver his personal football philosophy however – and 3-4-2-1, or a similar set-up, has yielded his finest results thus far.
Pressing Ahead
One of the reasons that Alonso was seen as a failure at Real Madrid is that he bent to his players’ will.
At Leverkusen, their defensive work was built around an intense, aggressive press; the Spaniard wanted his players to win the ball back as quickly as possible – and as high up the pitch as possible, too.
It’s not really a philosophy that chimes with Real Madrid’s natural state, nor Spanish football in general for that matter. They would ideally want to defend with the ball; out of possession, Real will drop into their zones and engage when the ball/an opposition player comes close.
So expect Chelsea’s defensive work rate to increase, with a higher line and an emphasis on camping inside the opposition’s half.
The best form of defence is attack, as the old saying goes, and that’s certainly a notion that Alonso subscribes to. But his managerial record poses a little concern in that regard:
- Real Sociedad B – games played 98, goals conceded 120
- Bayer Leverkusen – games played 140, goals conceded 150
- Real Madrid – games played 34, goals conceded 38
Alonso’s sides average more than a goal conceded per game. That’s not the end of the world if your attacking play is on point, but it does put additional pressure on those in the final third to score 2+ each week.
Quietly Authoritative
Alonso has been described as ‘quietly authoritative’ in the press, which is perhaps the ideal personality trait in the modern game.
The Spaniard was beloved at Leverkusen; that much was obvious in the celebrations after the title win, where he was carried on the shoulders of the players, doused in beer and even climbed into the stands to celebrate with fans.
Alonso did struggle to control the dressing room at Real Madrid, however. Vinicius Jr claimed that the head coach didn’t show him enough respect in his time at the Bernabeu – “I could not connect with him,” the Brazilian claimed, while Federico Valverde openly criticised Alonso for playing him at right back instead of in midfield.
Chelsea’s squad has got some big personalities in it, so we’ll have to wait and see if they can connect with Alonso. If they can, there’s no reason why Blues fans can’t be bullish about the season ahead.
If they don’t gel, BlueCo might be looking for yet another head coach sooner rather than later.