Xabi Alonso proved himself as a player, and he's showing real promise as a manager. Leverkusen under him? They have energy and talent. Their Europa League run? It was skill, not luck. Champions League is the big leagues. You've got the best of the best, every single week. I enjoy Leverkusen, but dont get carried away. They have a rough road.
Losing important players might hurt. Plus, group stage draw? Its a lottery. It could be lucky or bad. Ask Manchester United about that. Yes, Alonso is smart. He knows tactics. But even he cant do miracles. Leverkusen could make noise, but a semi-final run? Lower expectations, folks. Lets see how they handle summer and pressure. Then we can talk.
His experience playing in three different teams and three leagues and many different top coaches certainly gives Alonso a lot of experience and knowledge, so when he coaches now of course he can freely put all the knowledge he has gained so far into his team, Leverkusen has been a club that has surprised us all this season even though they have failed to win the Europa League trophy, but we can't deny how Leverkusen consistency, mentality and performance greatly influenced their success in reaching the Europa League final this season, but Leverkusen failure to win the trophy certainly indicates that there are still shortcomings in their team so it should be a reference for Alonso to make Leverkusen even better in next season.
In my opinion, Leverkusen have a mentality in every game they have played before but that mentality is not seen when they have to face Atlanta in the Europa League final, luck may be in football but it will not mean that without other key factors such as hard work, mentality and also good performance of a team, I see Leverkusen journey this season is the result of hard work and intelligence alonso in bringing Leverkusen appeared quite consistent.