{"id":51565,"date":"2026-05-08T16:56:51","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T11:26:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/?p=51565"},"modified":"2026-05-08T16:58:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T11:28:15","slug":"iker-casillas-backs-xabi-alonso-as-next-real-madrid-coach-says-he-would-sign-him-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/football\/iker-casillas-backs-xabi-alonso-as-next-real-madrid-coach-says-he-would-sign-him-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Iker Casillas backs Xabi Alonso as next Real Madrid coach, says  he would sign him again"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"auto\">Real Madrid legend <strong>Iker Casillas<\/strong> has publicly backed <strong>Xabi Alonso<\/strong> to return as the club\u2019s next head coach, praising the former midfielder\u2019s proven success at Bayer Leverkusen.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\">In recent comments, the iconic Spanish goalkeeper stated: <em>\u201cThe next Real Madrid coach? I\u2019d like Xabi Alonso to return, he\u2019s a coach who\u2019s brought success to Leverkusen\u2026 As for me, if you ask me, I\u2019d sign Xabi Alonso again.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<h3 dir=\"auto\">Why Casillas Wants Xabi Alonso Back at Real Madrid<\/h3>\n<p dir=\"auto\">Xabi Alonso enjoyed a stellar playing career at the Santiago Bernab\u00e9u, winning multiple major trophies including La Liga titles and the UEFA Champions League. After transitioning to management, he transformed Bayer Leverkusen from a mid-table side into German champions.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\">Under Alonso, Leverkusen achieved historic success:<\/p>\n<ul dir=\"auto\">\n<li>Their first-ever Bundesliga title.<\/li>\n<li>An unbeaten domestic season.<\/li>\n<li>Strong performances in the DFB-Pokal and Europe.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p dir=\"auto\">His tactical acumen, player development, and ability to build a winning culture made him one of Europe\u2019s most sought-after young coaches.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\">Alonso briefly returned to Real Madrid as head coach in 2025 but departed after a short stint. Casillas\u2019s fresh endorsement highlights ongoing calls for his return amid the club\u2019s current managerial situation.<\/p>\n<h3 dir=\"auto\">Real Madrid\u2019s Coaching Situation in 2026<\/h3>\n<p dir=\"auto\">Real Madrid faces speculation about its next permanent manager following a challenging period. Names like Jos\u00e9 Mourinho, Didier Deschamps, and others have been linked, but Casillas\u2019s support for Alonso stands out due to their shared history as teammates and club icons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Real Madrid legend Iker Casillas has publicly backed Xabi Alonso to return as the club\u2019s next head coach, praising the\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":217,"featured_media":51566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,4660],"tags":[2326,3608],"class_list":["post-51565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","category-transfer-news","tag-iker-casillas","tag-xabi-alonso"],"reading_time":"2 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/217"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51565"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51567,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51565\/revisions\/51567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}