Score this one for the little guy. Xabi Alonso had a more-than-realistic chance of filling the managerial vacancy at Bayern Munich league titles: 33, Champions League titles: 6, domestic cups: 20 or Liverpool league titles: 19, Champions League titles: 6, domestic cups: 18 this summer.
Instead, on Friday he announced that he'd stick around for at least another season at the helm of Bayer Leverkusen league titles: 0, Champions League titles: 0, domestic cups: 1. It's the football equivalent of the hotshot mid-major coach turning down a job at the massive SEC powerhouse to stay loyal to the folks who believed in him and the recruits he brought on board.
I still have a lot of things [to do] to prove myself, to experience, and right now I have a situation in the club where I feel really stable, really happy with the team and the club. The current season is his first full campaign as a top-flight manager, and it couldn't be going much better. Leverkusen are undefeated in all competitions, have a point lead at the top of the Bundesliga and are on track to set the league's all-time single-season points record.
They are in the semifinal of the German Cup and the quarterfinals of the Europa League , which means they could yet win a trifecta of trophies. Such an accomplishment would be hugely meaningful for a club who turn on July 1 and have but two pieces of silverware to show off, the most recent dating back 31 years.
Professional sports have a pretty clear hierarchy and their rat-race rules dictate that when you get offered a clearly bigger job, you take it.
