Two Former Teammates Alcantara and Alonso Set to Face Off Against Each Other in El Clasico

Two of the most technically gifted midfielders in the history of Spanish football Xabi Alonso and Thiago Alcantara, are set to face off against each other. This time, not as footballers, rather as tactical geniuses operating the play from the side sidelines. Ahead of the first El Clásico of the season, Real Madrid gaffer Xabi Alonso will lock horns against his former teammate Thiago Alcantara, who happens to be the assistant coach of FC Barcelona. The El Clásico now holds a unique rivalry, and another friends-to-foes story is on the cards as two teammates who won so many accolades together will leave no stone unturned for the honor and pride of the badge they are wearing on their chest, even after hanging up their boots.

Alonso and Alcantara Won Four Trophies Together in Two Years

Xabi Alonso and Thiago Alcantara were teammates for two years during their reign at the Allianz Arena in the German capital city of Munich. Alcantara is almost a decade younger than Alonso. After playing his trade with Real Sociedad, Liverpool, Real Madrid, and winning the FIFA World Cup and two European Cup trophies, Alonso joined Munich in 2015. Thiago Alcantara was just getting started; on the other hand, when he joined Munich in 2013 from Barca. Together, both of them formed the heart of Bayern Munich's midfield. In just two seasons, they both helped Bayern win the Bundesliga twice, the DFB Pokal, and the DFL SuperCup. They failed to win any continental silverware after Munich got knocked out twice in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals by Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.

From Bayern Teammates to El Clásico Geniuses

After his time in Bayern, Alonso decided to hang up his boots as the then Bayern captain, Philipp Lahm, played their last game together against Freiburg. Post his playing days, he took up coaching. After managing the Real Sociedad reserves, his first major assignment was with Bayer Leverkusen. In his second season at Leverkusen, he did the unthinkable. The man who won two Bundesliga titles with Bayern ended their dominance as a coach as Leverkusen won the Bundesliga and also reached the finals of the UEFA Europa League.

Recently, he joined his boyhood club, Real Madrid, as the head coach. Thiago Alcantara, on the other hand, won the UCL with Bayern Munich in 2020 before joining Liverpool. In 2024, he bid adieu to club football as a player and was appointed as the assistant coach of FC Barcelona. Two best friends, who once shook European football, are all set to lock horns against each other in the upcoming El Clásico.