Bayer 04 Leverkusen have announced that manager Gerardo Seaone has been relieved of his duties with immediate effect. Legendary former Liverpool, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid centre-back Xabi Alonso has been named as the Swiss coach’s successor, effective immediately.
The 43-year-old Seaone was facing the sack for some time now, considering his side’s poor performance in the Bundesliga, where they are currently in a precarious position at 17th on the table. They have just five points in eight games in the league, including a solitary win which came against Mainz 05. Right-back Jeremie Frimpong was magnificent, getting two goals as Leverkusen brushed aside the opposition with a scoreline of 3-0.
However, that was wrongly perceived as a sign of improvement from Seaone’s side, as they slumped to a further four defeats and two draws across all competitions. Their only other win came in the Champions League against Spanish giants Atletico Madrid (2-0).
Xabi Alonso, who had an illustrious career for both club and country, has a World Cup and two Champions League trophies to his name. Alonso, more importantly, is not new to the management world, having coached Spanish side Real Sociedad’s junior side between 2019 and 2022. Alonso left Sociedad over the summer, before taking up the Leverkusen role.
Leverkusen have their fair share of excellent players, including Czech striker Patrick Schick, and former Chelsea forward Callum Hudson-Odoi. Additionally, Alonso also has explosive French winger Moussa Diaby at his disposal.
Seaone’s sacking comes as a shock to some, considering that his side were outstanding in the previous season, finishing third, only behind titans Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. Leverkusen finished with 64 points, winning 19 games out of 34.
An ACL injury to attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz did come as a big blow, but the gritty side were able to finish in third place, their best league finish since 2015, when they achieved a similar feat under Roger Schmidt.
