Xabi Alonso is the latest manager to take on the impossible task of leading Chelsea. After dressing room discontent ended his Real Madrid stint, the Spaniard agreed to a long-term deal as Chelsea boss following the midseason departures of Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior.
Alonso described the role as a “beautiful project,” which is probably how Maresca, Rosenior, Graham Potter, and Thomas Tuchel felt at various stages. The Blues, despite winning the Club World Cup last summer, have been in disarray under their current ownership.
Constant buying and selling has left a bloated, unsettled squad without enough experience, and Chelsea has finished outside the top five in three of the last four Premier League seasons.
Before his mishap in Madrid, Alonso masterminded Bayer Leverkusen’s extraordinary campaign that ended with a Bundesliga title, the DFB-Pokal, and a runners-up finish in the Europa League. There was speculation he might wait for the Liverpool opening with Arne Slot under mounting pressure, but Chelsea made a compelling enough offer to land the most sought-after manager in world football.
Taking this job is a gamble. The fact he is arriving as “manager” rather than “head coach” matters, and it has to function that way in practice if BlueCo are going to avoid repeating mistakes from previous appointments.
Hiring Alonso only works if Chelsea fully embrace everything the World Cup winner offers. Perhaps his success in Germany gives the hierarchy more willingness to hand him flexibility than they did with Maresca.
Adaptability
Flexibility has been Alonso’s most impressive trait throughout his career. At Real Sociedad B, he preferred a back four. He later shifted to a back three in possession at Leverkusen, maximizing a talented wing-back pairing while using an energetic squad to fuel a high press.
During his spell with Real Madrid, he largely stuck with a back four again, but demanded less from his players defensively and showed a willingness to switch into a back five depending on the opponent.
Do not be surprised if Alonso changes formations mid-match. He wants his teams committing five players high up the pitch, creating options for line-breaking passes. Exactly who fills those roles can vary depending on the personnel available.
Chelsea’s buildup will likely be patient and methodical. Expect the Blues to regularly dominate possession, often sitting above 60 percent while circulating short passes until space opens up. Players with elite close control, like Cole Palmer, become invaluable in that setup.
Chelsea’s Attitude
It is easy to preach patience whenever someone takes over a new club. With Alonso, though, this goes beyond simply giving him runway in the role. It means time on the training ground, something that has worked wonders for Michael Carrick at Manchester United, and it requires buy-in from both the sporting directors and the players.
There was a feeling the squad quickly lost faith in Rosenior. Maresca also never consistently looked like he was getting what he wanted from the group. Alonso will not have complete authority over transfers, because almost no modern manager does, but how much influence will ownership actually give him?
Hiring Alonso is not about trying to win the league in 2027. It is an investment in a multi-year progression, and that could require signings that are not guaranteed to generate profit. For the players, does Alonso’s success as both a player and manager command the necessary respect?
Fascinating Pairing
Alonso patiently waited for the right opportunity with Leverkusen. Then he appeared to land the dream role with Real Madrid.
There are two ways to view this next step: Chelsea are either an impossible job weighed down by ownership issues, or they are simply waiting for the right figure to finally stabilize everything and become the architect of the club’s revival.
There is also an argument that Chelsea is now viewed as such a difficult task that Alonso has very little to lose. If he fails, would many people even blame him?
Maresca also showed there is a path toward relative success. This is a far more talented squad than the 2026 results suggest. Ownership is willing to spend aggressively, even if too much of that money has been invested poorly.
This appointment makes more sense than Potter, Maresca, or Rosenior ever did. There is obvious risk for Alonso, but there is also massive upside given how wide open the Premier League suddenly feels following Pep Guardiola’s departure.
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