Rummenigge praises Alonso and criticizes Borussia Dortmund
Former Bayern boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge raves about Bayer Leverkusen head coach Xabi Alonso (41). "He has a clear plan, he has built up his career very systematically: He was at his home club Real San Sociedad as a youth player, then in the second team. He deliberately took the time to learn the coaching profession from the ground up. It was clear to me then at the latest that he would become a great coach," said Rummenigge (68) in an interview with the Funke media group (Wednesday).
During Alonso's time as a Bayern player (2014 to 2017), he had already predicted a great coaching career for the "very intelligent man" as FCB's CEO at the time. The Basque also trained under the "best coaches in the world" as a player: "Rafael Benitez at Liverpool, Jupp Heynckes at Bayern, Pep Guardiola at Bayern, Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid."
Current Bayern supervisory board member Rummenigge also sees league leaders Leverkusen as the record champions' toughest rivals. "It will be a challenge for us to get Leverkusen off the top. They deserve a lot of respect because they play really attractive soccer," said Rummenigge, who also took a dig at Borussia Dortmund. The fact that BVB are currently lagging far behind Leverkusen and Bayern in the table also has to do with the Westphalians' concept of developing top international talents as valuable assets and selling them at a high price in the past.
"There was a youth mania in German soccer, far too many transfers were made in order to create a business model in which the players were later sold at a profit. Even here in Dortmund," said Rummenigge, who was born in Westphalia. "And then a Sancho goes to Manchester United, a Haaland to Manchester City, a Bellingham to Real. But that wasn't just a loss for Dortmund, the whole Bundesliga loses attractions."
Borussia Dortmund's strategy of developing and selling top talents has been critiqued by Rummenigge, leading to their current position behind both Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. Despite Borussia Dortmund's struggles, Leverkusen, led by Xabi Alonso, continues to play attractive soccer and pose a significant challenge to Bayern Munich's position at the top.
Source: www.dpa.com
