{"id":922526,"date":"2026-10-10T02:18:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T02:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/922526\/"},"modified":"2026-10-10T02:18:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T02:18:15","slug":"football-news-2026-xabi-alonso-exclusive-interview-chelsea-vs-bournemouth-preview-mahdi-nicoll-jazuli","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/922526\/","title":{"rendered":"Football news 2026: Xabi Alonso exclusive interview, Chelsea vs Bournemouth preview; Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli"},"content":{"rendered":"

London: Xabi Alonso has had enough of the international break. <\/p>\n

Sitting in a blacked out studio at Chelsea<\/a>\u2019s Cobham training ground his eyes dart to his football communications boss when he admits this. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Xabi Alonso.\u00a0Stan Sport<\/p>\n

\u201cThe break was too long for us, for the coaches … the international players were in their international teams, and it was a different dynamic,\u201d he tells nine.com.au and Stan Sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were missing them, and now we have them back and need to prepare for Bournemouth.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Chelsea manager says he didn\u2019t watch much international football. <\/p>\n

He split his time over the two-week break in London and at home in Spain, Basque country specifically. <\/p>\n

In terms of his appearance, Alonso looks like he could still play. He\u2019s still in shape and there are no signs his retirement from playing has led to many days off with his fitness. <\/p>\n

If there is time to be spent outside football, Alonso can be found on the golf course. <\/p>\n

His sporting life is 95 per cent football and five per cent golf. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s how he spent his time in Australia when Chelsea was on its pre-season tour. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the first time for me in Australia, I really enjoyed it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a great experience to play in Sydney, connect with other people around the city and country. It was good that it wasn\u2019t that hot, it was warmer in Europe. It was a great trip.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a bit of sightseeing in Sydney, some guys went to Bondi Beach, some of us played a bit of golf.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked his handicap, Alonso takes a brief step away from the serious and direct persona and laughs. <\/p>\n

\u201cNot good enough,\u201d he smiles and repeats twice. <\/p>\n

On the pre-season tour, Alonso had his first look at the Australian-born prodigy Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Mathys Tel of Tottenham Hotspur and Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli of Chelsea FC contest for the ball in the pre-season.\u00a0Ayush Kumar<\/p>\n

The 16-year-old left Australia at a young age, and it\u2019s unlikely we\u2019ll see him in a Socceroos jersey. He was already made appearances for England\u2019s under 17s team. <\/p>\n

Nicoll-Jazuli featured on the pitch during the club\u2019s time in Sydney and made his Premier League debut against Brentford in the club\u2019s 3-0 loss before the international break. He broke the record as Chelsea\u2019s youngest-ever player in the Premier League era. <\/p>\n

The one word Alonso repeatedly uses to describe Nicoll-Jazuli is \u201cenergy\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s young … he\u2019s been training with us since the pre-season, and he\u2019s taking a step forward,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we\u2019re missing players that\u2019s when the opportunities come for the young players … we need to help him, he\u2019s so young, he\u2019s just 16 but I think he\u2019ll be a great player for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the follow-up question is posed around the teenager\u2019s confidence, Alonso is quick in his response. <\/p>\n

\u201cMahdi has confidence, he has confidence. He has energy and confidence, that\u2019s not in doubt, he feels he\u2019s ready and we need that,\u201d he smiles. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut now we have more players back and hopefully regularity in the squad in availability and that will help to be more consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alonso is alluding to injuries. <\/p>\n

His start at Chelsea was bright with two wins against Fulham<\/a> and Brighton. The attack looked unbelievable with new signing Morgan Rogers combining nicely alongside Cole Palmer. <\/p>\n

Since then, there\u2019s been a fall. An expected 2-1 loss to Arsenal<\/a> followed before a 2-2 draw against Hull and a big 3-0 loss to Brentford. <\/p>\n

Injuries have been part of that dip in form. <\/p>\n

Joao Pedro pulled out of the Brazil squad and Cole Palmer did the same for England. Reece James has a hamstring issue and Moises Caicedo has been troubled by a calf problem. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Cole Palmer of Chelsea celebrates scoring.\u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

There were problems for Chelsea before the injuries too with defence a big concern. In pre-season they conceded four goals against Western Sydney Wanderers and two at Craven Cottage in the first match of the season against Fulham. <\/p>\n

Emi Martinez was swiftly brought in as goalkeeper from Aston Villa after Robert S\u00e1nchez\u2019s struggles against Fulham.<\/p>\n

The Argentinian star\u2019s arrival hasn\u2019t stemmed the flow of goals.<\/p>\n

Alonso doesn\u2019t put these problems solely down to defence. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have some positives and things that can be better, not just in terms of results but in terms of the game and especially conceding goals, it\u2019s an area that we want to improve, but it\u2019s just not defence it\u2019s the attack as well,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way we attack helps with the defence, so everything is related, there are many parts that we are still developing, there are positives and negatives in this process to become more consistent and more competitive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alonso\u2019s journey to the role of Chelsea manager hasn\u2019t been simple. <\/p>\n

He coached Real Madrid\u2019s under 14s side after retiring, before taking control of Real Sociedad B who were in the third tier of Spanish football. In his second season he had them promoted to the second division. <\/p>\n

In 2022 he made the famous move to Bayer Leverkusen where he won the club\u2019s first Bundesliga title in the 2023\/24 season. That season they only conceded 24 goals, with Vfb Stuttgart and RB Leipzig the next best for goals conceded on 39. <\/p>\n

In his final season, when Bayern returned to champion status, they conceded 43 but were still second best for goals against.<\/p>\n

From there he went to Real Madrid where a reported falling out with the playing group ended his reign early. <\/p>\n

He was quickly snapped up by Chelsea before his old club Liverpool could pounce.<\/p>\n

His arrival in the Premier League makes for an impressive list of managers from Basque Country. The other names are Unai Emery, Andoni Iraola and Mikel Arteta.<\/p>\n

Iraola, Arteta and Alonso all played in their youth at Antiguoko Kirol Elkartea in San Sebastian. <\/p>\n

Arteta has previously been asked why there\u2019s such a strong Basque presence in the Premier League. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Mikel Arteta. \u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cGo to San Sebastian, come back and then ask me the question,\u201d he said back in 2024. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably the passion, the food and the education we all had. It is probably about opportunities, and someone has to believe in you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The area is part of Alonso\u2019s journey where he grew up with a father, Periko, who played and managed in Basque Country. <\/p>\n

Despite being managed by the world\u2019s best in Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti, Jose Mourinho and Rafael Benitez, it\u2019s Alonso\u2019s father who was integral to his rise as a player and manager. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a football player and coach and I saw it at home so he was the biggest influence,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe approach he had to the team, to the job, what it takes to be a player and a manager, this is for me the biggest influence.\u201d<\/p>\n

In matches and training sessions, Alonso sees more of his habits being influenced by the managers he had. But how to approach the profession and balance his life comes down solely to his father. <\/p>\n

The 44-year-old doesn\u2019t shy away from learning from other coaches in different sports either. <\/p>\n

He swapped jerseys with Wallabies coach Les Kiss when in Sydney and shared a brief interaction. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Les Kiss and Xabi Alonso.\u00a0Wallabies<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I have the chance yes (I talk to other managers), there are common things about making decisions and managing a group and getting the best out of them,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am always curious to ask how they prepare and approach (their matches) … it always helps to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"London: Xabi Alonso has had enough of the international break. Sitting in a blacked out studio at Chelsea\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":922527,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":["post-922526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/922526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=922526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/922526\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/922527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=922526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=922526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=922526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}