“Unlike in Madrid, we did not leave the coach politically alone at Leverkusen,” says Fernando Carro
Bayer Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro has criticised Real Madrid for leaving Xabi Alonso “isolated” and without support.
Alonso took charge of Real Madrid in the summer following a successful spell in Germany, where he had led Leverkusen to an historic unbeaten Bundesliga title.
He started well in the Spanish capital, winning 14 of his first 15 games, but has struggled since November, with back-to-back defeats to Celta Vigo and Manchester City raising questions over his future to a crescendo.
A 2-1 win over Deportivo Alaves on Sunday provided some relief but there is still speculation over whether he will soon be dismissed.
Carro said that Alonso’s difficulties in Madrid show the difference in structure between the La Liga giants and Leverkusen.
“We didn’t advise him on anything,” Carro said. “At the time we would have liked him to stay here [at Leverkusen], but we know he is a coach with enormous talent who finds himself in a different context in Madrid.
“If the president says that a coach is a necessary evil, if the coach is left alone and it is always he who receives the criticism, well then the situation is very different from the one he experienced in Leverkusen, where we all rowed in the same direction and did not leave the coach politically alone.”
