Who could take over Leverkusen? Presentation of possible candidates

Bayer Leverkusen have made an appalling start to the season. They followed up their first round loss in the domestic cup to a third league team with three league games without a point and sit in last place in the Bundesliga. It begs the question of how solid the chair is under coach Gerard Seoan.

the 43-year-old Swiss only took over Bayer 04 last year and led them to third place in his first season. Over the summer, the club kept all of its stars and even strengthened the squad, for example by bringing in Spartan striker Adam Hložek on the wing.

Therefore, at least a top-four finish and a respectable performance in the cup and in Europe was expected. However, the start of the season has significantly complicated these goals. It is thus possible that Seoane will not be the coach aiming to rehabilitate the year after a tragic start.

But who could replace him on the Leverkusen bench? Seoane presents himself with an attacking, straightforward style of play that many might call naive. This, coupled with the fact that Bundesliga outfits have a habit of recycling the same coaches over and over again, at most looking to Switzerland and Austria, narrows the choice of options considerably. So let’s take a look at a few candidates.

Marco Rose

Without a club since the end of last season, Marco Rose is one of the leading candidates for any vacant position in the top half of the Bundesliga table.

The 45-year-old German coach’s reputation was greatly damaged by a failed stint at BVB, however, where he had a guillotine over him from the start in the form of Edin Terzić. Before that, he drew attention to himself with impressive performances with Borussia Mönchengladbach, where he moved after several years in the structures of Austrian Salzburg.

In his time, he preferred a 4-4-2 formation with a diamond in midfield, but has also shown a willingness to play with a 4-2-3-1 formation. Both of these alternatives would suit Leverkusen’s line-up, as would his game concept and playing style, in which elements learned at the Red Bull school are clearly legible.

Sebastian Hoeneß

The nephew of the famous Bayern Munich official, Sebastian Hoeneß has made his presence felt as a coach with the Munich side, where he performed well beyond expectations as coach of FC Bayern II. This was followed by a well-deserved opportunity with TSG Hoffenheim, who were looking, and still are, after the departure of coach Nagelsmann.

Hoeneß was enough to finish 11th and, in the following season, 9th, which was not enough for the management and since the end of last season Hoeneß has been out of a job. However, it must be remembered that Nagelsmann himself, although he led Hoffenheim to Europe, finished only ninth with the team in his last season.

Sebastian Hoeneß is a young (40), promising and ambitious coach. He has, somewhat unusually in the Bundesliga, asked his teams to do no rigorous pressing and is inclined to let his team control the game and keep the ball more. This would be a change for Leverkusen, but perhaps it would mark a much-needed development not just for the club, but for the league as a whole. Bayer’s players also have experience with Hoeneß’s preferred 3-4-1-2 formation, with Seoane using it in places last season.

For the Czech fan, it is important that Hoeneß trusts young players and Adam Hložek would not lose the space to develop his game.

Joachim Löw

With every vacant coaching position in Germany, the name of long-time German national team coach Joachim Löw inevitably comes up. He hasn’t sat on the bench since June 2021 and if he still wants to return to the sideline, time is running out.

His career so far as a club coach has been a chequered one. In eight years, between the 1996/97 and 2003/04 seasons, he went through six clubs, including Stuttgart, Fenerbahce and most recently Austria Vienna. He has a DFP Pokal and one Austrian league winner’s medal to his name with FC Tirol Innsbruck.

He is best known for his time with the national team, with whom he achieved, in addition to his famous triumph at the 2014 World Cup, the Confederations Cup with a number of young talents, many of whom are now full German representatives.

Able to alternate between a 4-2-3-1 and a 3-4-2-1, with a squad as full of talent as Leverkusen’s, there clearly won’t be many better opportunities to return to club football. If Seonane does indeed end up on the Bayer bench, Löw should see this as an unrepeatable opportunity.

Xabi Alonso

A big opportunity could be the engagement of Xabi Alonso. An unprecedented move for a Bundesliga club, Alonso removes most of the obstacles that German clubs traditionally see in similar situations.

First and foremost, Alonso speaks German. He learned it during his time at Bayern Munich, where he ended his professional playing career. This removes the other big barrier; he has worked in Germany and knows the league.

His name has previously come up in connection with the vacant Gladbach coaching position. Alonso distanced himself from that speculation at the time, saying that he had a split job with Real Sociedad’s B-team . However, he quit there at the end of last season and is now available.

With almost a hundred games to his coaching credit and an education at Real Madrid’s Castilla, Xabi Alonso remains a big unknown as a coach to the wider footballing public. What better way to introduce himself than at one of Germany’s most watched clubs, who really have nothing to lose after the kind of run they are experiencing?

Source: Bundesliga