Xabi Alonso conducted his first press conference today as new Chelsea manager at Cobham, addressing reporters in attendance on multiple questions around his decision to join, the new season and the vision for success.
Alonso, to kick things off, was congratulated on landing the role as new Chelsea manager in first question, responding with: “Well, first of all, good afternoon everyone. Thank you for congratulating me. The excitement is the club, the squad, the chance, the opportunity and the honour to come to this great club and to create the excitement, this bond with the supporters and to win games and to be successful."
A common theme that was soon noticed by many online was the emphasis placed from Chelsea’s new boss on making the “right decisions”.
On Chelsea, he said: “I want to enjoy it. I want to be part of this club, work together with the sporting directors, and we need for sure to make important decisions, right decisions, but I think that we have a strong base already built and now we need to follow up to keep building and building this mentality to be competitive on the pitch, to win games and to enjoy it."
Transfer Decisions Already Taking Shape
Those important and right decisions could be to sell players who have underperformed with only one year at Chelsea, including Alejandro Garnacho and Liam Delap.
On Garnacho, Alonso seemed to confirm a parting of ways this summer: "Well the situation, we have spoken with the sporting directors and there is an interest from him, from other clubs, so let's see how it develops. But hopefully it finishes in the best possible way for all the parties."
Building The Right Culture Will Lead to Success
There was no time for selling false promises, the words of ‘culture’ and ‘mentality’ surfaced throughout, but particularly in the context of challenging for the Premier League, and how much time he would need in order to do just that.
Alonso said: "We need to build strong principles, a strong mentality and culture in the club and time will tell. I am not going to say what will happen in May, for me it is too early to say that.
“But I am confident, I am optimistic to think that we can have a great season and for that it is time to prepare, it is time to work, it is time to be intelligent in many things and after to hope that we have this belief and to have this belief within the team with our fans here in Stamford Bridge will be very important”
That belief at Stamford Bridge and throughout the fanbase has certainly been lost in some quarters. Alonso will be tasked with making Stamford Bridge a fortress again, creating a team that fans can identify with and watch with pride.
The good news for fans is that he seemed confident ahead of the new season, despite just spending a few days with the squad thus far, saying: “Yes, I'm sure and I have felt already that they will have a good season. After last year we were starting from zero, we saw new faces from the staff, from the manager, but they are really keen on whatever we are doing.
“We can't really tell that much, just four days with some players, but you see that the energy is good, the excitement is there and we need to prepare well”.
Cole Palmer Identified as Chelsea's Key Player
One player who will be vital to Chelsea having a good season is Cole Palmer, who is understood to be motivated to turn his fortunes around after an injury ridden year.
Alonso was full of praise for the playmaker when asked: "We have had a few training sessions already and from the first day you can see he is a special talent, he is a special player, it is not easy to have one of those and you can notice his quality, how he is able to play the right decision in the right spot, so I am happy that he has come in a good mood, in a good mindset to have a great season and we are really looking forward to get the best from him”.
He continued: "If we are able to build a strong team with the proper stability to find the key players, for sure Cole is going to be one of those key players in the attacking part."
Alonso Addresses the Futures of Fernandez and Jackson
There was some insight into the futures of Enzo Fernandez, who has been widely rumoured to be wanting a move away this summer, and Nicolas Jackson, who fell out with former coach Enzo Maresca, spending last season on loan at Bayern Munich.
Alonso confirmed he had spoken to Fernandez but refused to reveal any details. He did however remark “Yes” when asked if he wanted to keep him.
How much you can really take from that though is questionable, and while some media outlets have ran with the headline suggesting that it is 100% confirmation he is in the plans of Alonso, it would be both unwise and insensible for Alonso to suggest the opposite, as it would weaken the negotiation position for the club, should Fernandez push to leave.
Sources have told Striver.Football that much will depend on how Fernandez chooses to act after the World Cup. His agent, Javier Pastore, has been on record in interviews suggesting that he is looking for a move away for his client.
Jackson’s future however could be more straightforward. Alonso confirmed that he will join the pre season tour of Asia and that he is “looking forward” to working with him.
Mentality First, Tactics Second
Mentality was stressed again as a more important part of what Chelsea do this season, rather than formation.
"Yes for sure I have things in mind (formation), this is my job and for sure we want to be active, we want to be brave, we want to play good football, we want to compete well, but above that we need a good mentality. I think that is fundamental to understand, to do what it takes in each moment.”
Final Thoughts
Overall, it was a solid first press conference for Alonso. He was keen to hamper down that hard work, mentality and culture, combined with the right decisions from above, will be keys to success.
After all, it is those above elements that have been questioned so much in recent seasons. Whilst Chelsea have had moments of success under BlueCo, there has been a distinct lack of stability at the club.
One thing is for certain, off today’s evidence, Alonso will not hide what he is feeling. He seems like a man on a mission, but a mission that must be well thought out every step of the way, together with the hierarchy.
Not every head coach has found it easy under BlueCo, but Alonso has been handled the title of ‘Manager’, and the hope now for Blues fans is that with his pedigree in the game as both player and coach, Alonso can be the man to signify and deliver change on a more prolonged and consistent basis moving forward.
