Kimmich raves about Alonso: „He’s always one step ahead“

Xabi Alonso was not only one of the best players of his time, the 42-year-old is also currently enchanting the Bundesliga as a coach and has reached the semi-finals of the Europa League. With attractive attacking football, he won the first championship in the club’s history with Bayer Leverkusen. Now former team-mate Joshua Kimmich has spoken out about the Spaniard and praised Alonso to the skies.

Kimmich, who played with Alonso himself from 2015 to 2017, told the Spanish sports newspaper AS: „When I played with him, I sometimes thought he spoke and acted like a coach. That was very impressive. He always knew his position, but also that of his team-mates.“

Kimmich was particularly impressed by Alonso’s overview and understanding of the game: „He always knew where you were and where you had to be. He didn’t just concentrate on his position. He also knew everything about our opponents.“

Funny anecdote between Tuchel and Alonso

Kimmich, who played a total of 44 games alongside Alonso, was able to learn from Alonso as a young player and improve as a result: „Not only was I able to see how he operates as a player, but it was also very important for me that he gave me advice: you have to know where you want to pass the ball before you receive it, you have to improve your first touch.“

The 29-year-old also revealed a funny anecdote between Alonso and current FCB coach Thomas Tuchel: „I remember some games against Dortmund when Thomas Tuchel was still their coach. They sometimes switched between four and five players in defence.“ Alonso always knew when Tuchel would adapt his tactics and was always one step ahead of the current Bayern coach.