Alonso hails 'really committed' team spirit

LEVERKUSEN, Germany — The street leading to Bayer Leverkusen's stadium has a new name. It's Xabi Alonso Avenue, at least to the fans.

It was here that they lined the road to greet the bus carrying the most in-demand coach in world soccer and his team ahead of their triumphant 5-0 rout of Werder Bremen on Sunday that sealed Leverkusen's first Bundesliga title.

"The journey to the stadium was unbelievable. You could feel that the fans were ready, totally convinced that we would do it," Alonso said.

After getting through a crowd celebrating as if Leverkusen had already won, Alonso's task was to manage his squad's emotions. "We spoke in the locker room that we have to transform this energy into positive energy."

The renaming isn't official — not yet, anyway. For now, it's just a matter of a fan's sticker over the sign on what's still officially the Bismarckstrasse. But if Alonso can finish the season with the German Cup and Europa League, who knows? It would be an impressive feat for a seasoned head coach, let alone someone taking their first tilt at the job.

As a Champions League and World Cup-winning player, who has worked with almost all of the biggest names in coaching, Alonso commands instant respect in the locker room. He's given a group of players with very different career trajectories the self-belief to take on Bayern and the tactics to take the champion apart.

Alonso refused to talk about the title for months, even after beating Bayern 3-0 in February to open up a lead that only continued to grow. "We didn't speak too much about the title in the locker room, but we all had it in our head," he said Sunday.

Last month, before sealing the Bundesliga title, Leverkusen had already enjoyed big victories over Bayern, again, and then Liverpool, when Alonso said he would stay for next season despite interest from two of the biggest clubs around. A possible vacancy in a year's time at Real Madrid may prove tempting, as well.

Bayern's new sporting director Max Eberl singled out Alonso for praise, while also vowing to hit back on the field next season.

"Special congratulations to Xabi Alonso, his coaching staff and the whole team," Eberl said in a statement. "Your football has thrilled the Bundesliga. FC Bayern's streak has been snapped, but we will now put everything toward getting on the attack again."

After Leverkusen stretched its German record unbeaten run to 43 games across all competitions this season, Alonso said he'd give the team Sunday and Monday to celebrate before the hard work begins again. Thursday sees the team travel to London, as Leverkusen aims to hold onto its 2-0 lead from the Europa League quarterfinals first leg against West Ham.

Then, there's a German Cup final to win on May 25 against second-division Kaiserslautern — and the small matter of Borussia Dortmund next week in the Bundesliga — one of five games separating Leverkusen from the league's first-ever unbeaten season.

For now, Alonso is enjoying his success, and the team spirit which has led him and Leverkusen to this point.

"When I feel that the team is behind me, the feeling that they want to believe, it's much easier," Alonso said in a mix of German and English, shortly before his players burst into his news conference to shower him with beer.

"That was my great enjoyment, that I had the feeling that the team was really committed, and once you have that, it's much easier. I don't know what it will mean for the future, but at the moment it feels pretty great."

Agencies via Xinhua