Part 2/6:

Despite his impressive pedigree, Alonso took his time in transitioning to management. He did his badges and worked with the youth teams at Rayo Vallecano, the club where he had initially come through, before taking his first senior job at Bayer Leverkusen. This proved to be the perfect environment for the young, ambitious, and still-learning manager.

In his first season at Leverkusen, Alonso took a team that was languishing in the relegation zone of the Bundesliga and guided them back up to the top half of the table. In his second season, he won the title, giving the club its first German championship in its 120-year history. It's not hard to see why clubs are so keen on him.