There is a lot of expectation at Chelsea going into the 2026-27 season and that is largely due to the appointment of Alonso, 44.
His managerial record had largely been unblemished, leading Bayer Leverkusen to an invincible Bundesliga title and then joining former club Real Madrid.
Alonso’s Real Madrid rebuild didn’t work out as planned, however, and he was fired in January having fallen out with several members of the dressing room.
The new Chelsea boss has decided to look at the positives, however, acknowledging his mistakes and learning from them.
“Looking back, I take the positives and the things that didn’t work,” Alonso told The Athletic during Chelsea’s preseason tour of Australia. “I have been very critical of myself, thinking about what I could have done better because it did not go as expected.
“(In terms of positives) there are many experiences, the adaptation I had to do, some things that worked and some things that did not in terms of the game, in terms of the man-management. It is a mixture of everything.”
When asked if his underwhelming spell at Real Madrid has helped him improve as a manager, Alonso’s answer was emphatic: “Sure, sure, sure.
“Because you learn from the disappointment of things that were not meant to be and you try to think that things will be better.”