Real Madrid did not give Xabi Alonso enough time, sacking him after just seven months. Chelsea is a club that is not known for their patience, so the Blues will need to have the patience that Los Blancos lacked.
Chelsea have been known for their hiring and firing of managers since the days of Roman Abramovich. This has not changed since Todd Boehly's consortium took over the club in 2022.
This season, Enzo Maresca departed the club by mutual consent despite leading the Blues to Club World Cup glory over the summer. Calum McFarlane then took over as caretaker before the appointment of Liam Rosenior.
Rosenior's appointment was strange as he did not have the pedigree that Chelsea fans are used to seeing in their managers. Before managing the Blues, Rosenior had been in charge of Strasbourg, Derby County, and Hull City.
Chelsea need to learn from their mistakes and the mistakes of others
The Chelsea hierarchy looks like they will not make the same mistake again with their next appointment. The links with Alonso prove that the Blues are now searching for a big-name boss to lead their side.
Alonso would walk into the Chelsea dressing room with an aura for what he did as a player. He won the Champions League and FA Cup with Liverpool. The midfielder also lifted the Champions League and La Liga with Real Madrid. Whilst with Bayern Munich, Alonso claimed the Bundesliga three times. He was also part of the Spain side that won the 2010 World Cup and two European Championships.
More success came as a manager, as he won the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, and DFB-Supercup with Bayer Leverkusen during the 2023/24 season. The only trophy they did not win that campaign was the Europa League, which they got to the final of before losing to Atalanta.
Alonso seemed measured when deciding to stay at Leverkusen for another season before taking the Real Madrid job. His record with Los Blancos was still very good; he had a 70.59 win percentage. Of his 34 games in charge, Alonos won 24 of them, drew four, and lost just six.
It appeared as if Alonso struggled to adapt to coaching players with big egos, such as Vinicius Junior at Real Madrid. This was key to his downfall, and after a narrow 3-2 defeat to Barcelona in the Supercopa de España final, Alonso was out.
Chelsea fans may not like having a manager so synonymous with Liverpool in charge of their club. They did not like having Rafa Benitez in charge on an interim basis during the 2012/13 season. However, Alonso is a manager who could bring success back to Stamford Bridge, so long as he is given time.
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