The controversial former Chelsea coach, Rafael Benitez, believes Xabi Alonso's spell at the club will be successful because of the extensive knowledge he gained about the league during his playing days.
Rafael Benitez had a particularly difficult spell in charge of Chelsea in 2012, as he was attacked by fans, who, despite him being their team's coach, did not forgive him for his past at Liverpool. From the first minute he managed from the Blues' bench, he received boos, insults, and even saw banners from dozens (or hundreds) of fans with the words "RAFA OUT" or "RAFAEL BENITEZ, CHELSEA FANS DO NOT FORGET."
Now, the Spanish coach, who is currently without a club, had some words for Xabi Alonso, who, despite having been a Liverpool player and even coached by Benitez himself, seems to have been welcomed very well by Chelsea fans. For Rafa, Alonso's spell at Stamford Bridge will be very good, as he has extensive knowledge of what it takes to play in the Premier League.
He commented on Sky Sports: "I think Xabi is really clever. He did really well with Leverkusen – and that was a surprise, because he was coming from Real Sociedad B. To do what he did at Leverkusen was fantastic. Then, going to Real Madrid – we know from experience that this is quite complicated – but at the same time, he knows the league; he knows the players. He knows everything about the Premier League. He's clever – I think he is a good coach. Chelsea is not easy, but I think he can do well."
For the moment, it seems that the relationship between Alonso, the board, and the fans is excellent. Everyone has their hopes placed on the Spaniard, not so much for his recent spell at Real Madrid, but for the feat he achieved in the 2023/24 season when he coached Bayer Leverkusen and led them to the Bundesliga title undefeated. Breaking the absolute dominance of Bayern Munich, who until that 2023/24 had been crowned 11 consecutive times.
Although it is also important to understand that this is a process, and there is no need to go crazy if he does not start with 5 consecutive victories. The fans must respect the coach's process; what he achieved in Germany was not instantaneous. However, what would be excellent for this relationship not to begin to deteriorate is for him to secure an important place at the table in his first season.
An excellent scenario would be returning to the Champions League in the first season, as the fans are tired after living through a scandalous 2025/26. A season in which they started well, but little by little they fell into a hole from which they never managed to get out. Coaching changes, uncommitted team stars, among other things, made the fans get tired of Chelsea's owners.
Now, Alonso has the important task of calming the situation. The board intelligently gave him total control over the team's signings in the hope that he would fix the ship that, until a couple of months ago, had sunk completely.
