When Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso takes on Jose Mourinho’s Roma on Thursday, he will face not only his former mentor, but the man who predicted his future coaching success.
Alonso played 151 games under Mourinho at Real Madrid from 2010 to 2013, winning several titles before the Portuguese returned to Chelsea.
Asked in 2019 about which of his former players could make a successful transition to coaching, Mourinho, who started his management career working with youngsters in the late 1980s, gave a clear answer.
“I would say Xabi Alonso,” Mourinho told a Top Eleven conference.
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