Xabi Alonso has officially begun work as Chelsea Football Club’s new head coach after being appointed in May.
The 44-year-old Spanish tactician arrives at Stamford Bridge with managerial experience gained at Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid.
The appointment comes after Chelsea dismissed Liam Rosenior, leaving the managerial position vacant.
Chelsea will be counting on Alonso’s wealth of experience to revive the club’s fortunes following a disappointing campaign last season, which ended with the Blues finishing 10th in the Premier League and missing out on European competition.
On Thursday, the club posted a video of Alonso’s arrival at Cobham, accompanied by the captions “Xabi Alonso arrives at Cobham”, “This is where it starts”, and “A new chapter awaits”.
Alonso is already familiar with Stamford Bridge from his playing days at Liverpool.
One of his most memorable moments at the stadium came when he scored the decisive goal in Liverpool’s 1-0 Premier League win, bringing Chelsea’s remarkable 86-match unbeaten home league run to an end. He also converted a penalty in the thrilling 4-4 draw during the second leg of the 2008/2009 UEFA Champions League quarter-final.
Provided everything goes as planned, Alonso is expected to remain in charge of Chelsea until the summer of 2030.
