from 5pm on Sky Sports Premier League; kick-off 5.30pm; watch Jamie Carragher’s full interview with Xabi Alonso on Sky Sports Premier League at 7.30pm on Sunday October 25 Jamie Carragher Football Expert and Columnist Friday 23 October 2026 19:40, UK Jamie Carragher sat down for a wide-ranging interview with Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso in which the pair discussed his appointment at Stamford Bridge and his aims for the season, as well as looking back at their time playing together at Liverpool.Why did you choose to join Chelsea?”It was about the timing. For me, it was the right timing after Leverkusen. After Madrid, I had my time off and I wanted to have that good feeling, that good connection about where to go. “I had no link to Chelsea, but with the potential that was here, a few things could change and I thought we could start the journey together.
“I had a feeling that the very strong base of the squad was very good and with some updates, some improvements, some new signings, we could have a solid team. And that it was going to be a project.”It’s not that, in year one it’s already done; we know it might take some more years, but the first year is important. It’s just starting but, so far, the feeling that we could be aligned taking decisions is going to be important.” Transfer Centre LIVE! | Chelsea news & transfers🔵Chelsea fixtures & scores | FREE Chelsea highlights▶️ Chelsea Tottenham Hotspur Saturday 24th October 5:00pm Kick off 5:30pm Did you think about the Chelsea ownership coming into initial talks?”From outside, I had the view of what I read, what I saw about the team, but then you get to know the people, you get to know their analysis, the things they have done, the things they thought could be done better, where we were and where we wanted to take the club. “Knowing that, in many processes, many decisions, I was going to be part of it, was important.
There is the ownership, the sporting director and me, but we are always connected and we have good communication.”That’s basic, to take responsibility. Things after can go well or not go well because this is football, but in the end, you want to feel part of it.” Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Highlights from the Premier League match between Everton and Chelsea. Was Chelsea’s managerial history something you thought about?”No, it was not a worry because I know what you need to get results, but I had the feeling we were on the same page.”We knew that where we want to be next year or in two years will take time and this is the process of building things the right way and that’s why the first phase we have improved in the team has been good.”It’s just seven games, but we have a clear direction of what we want. Zero worry about this.
This is football, you need to get the results. But to have the feeling we are doing things in the right way and that we have a plan is as important for me as the results.”Is winning the Premier League, getting back into the Champions League in the plan?”In the medium to long-term, yes. We know that takes time and many right decisions. We won’t make all the right decisions but, for me, being involved in the key decisions is as important as the rest.”This is the ambition of the club.
This club has won Champions Leagues and Premier Leagues not so long ago and we want to be back there, but we are not stupid to think this has to come right now. Time will tell when that can come.” This club has won Champions Leagues and Premier Leagues not so long ago and we want to be back there Is the set-up different to your previous experiences?”My experience in Germany is different from my experience in Spain and now. In Germany, you work very closely with the sporting director every day. That’s very different from England.”I had that relationship with Simon Rolfs where he was in the office with me every day, but not to say ‘You need to do this!'”It was to chat about the momentum of one player or a player is in a bad mood or we have had talks.
Normal things. In the end, this close relationship made us a very good tandem, and it worked really well.”At Chelsea, Sam (Jewell), Paul (Winstanley), Joe (Shields) are really close to the team as well.”What are your early memories of joining Liverpool?”I remember not many English players used to watch LaLiga, but you were one of the ones watching LaLiga, Barcelona and Real Madrid, of course, but Atletico, Deportivo La Coruna.”We used those games to talk more about football. We started getting to know each other and you were football mad, I was football mad.”I learned as well that you need to earn the respect of the guys that were there. You need to have a proper impact on Stevie [Gerrard] Carra, Didi Hamann, Sami Hyypia.
I knew I needed to earn my place, I need to earn my respect.”Happily, it didn’t take too long. It didn’t take as long as it could coming from Real Sociedad, being 21. It was quite quick.”I remember Bolton was proper, with Sam Allardyce. Gary Speed tackled me and said ‘Welcome to the Premier League!'”One of the first games was against Norwich at home and we won 3-0 and I played a very good game.
Then people start respecting you and saying ‘He can play’ and, little by little, you start making your own things in the club and you get the respect of the established and local players.”That was very important because, if not, you can struggle with the adaptation at the beginning.” Image: Xabi Alonso won the 2005 Champions League with Liverpool What are the biggest differences between when you came to the Premier League as a player to what you see now as a manager?”I would say the gap between the top clubs and the rest, 20 years ago, was much bigger than it is. The players are more complete. You hardly see a player that is not so fit or not so prepared physically.”Tactically, the gameplans are really sophisticated nowadays. I’m still getting into the tempo of the Premier League because, for me, it has been a change.
I try to learn as quickly as possible, but now it’s very sophisticated, even the squads are so complete.”Something has not changed: the energy that is created in the stadiums. For me, it feels the same. At the noise… we were playing against Everton and the noise and energy that was created in this stadium, that has not changed.”For me, it’s very different to the sounds of the Bundesliga or Spain. My first game against Fulham we played in the Premier League, I said ‘This smells like the Premier League!'”What do you mean about still getting up to speed?”Before, you knew the top teams could play.
But you knew, with the other teams, if you were going to press a little bit, even with one less player, normally they would play long and you would have to be ready.”Now, that’s not enough. Now, you need to prepare what’s going to be the trigger point from one side; find solutions to that, so all the teams are much more complete.”The game is much more sophisticated in the way that it has developed a lot. Teams have solutions and very good patterns.” Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player A look at some of the best goals Spurs have scored against Chelsea over the years. Is there a certain methodology behind Spain’s football success?”Yes, there is a big methodology, but it has been built for 20 years.
It is not something that has been built in two years.”For example, Luis de la Fuente has been part of the youth national teams for a lot of time and he knows them very well. These players have played together for a long time and when they were 17,18, they were already playing together and they became elite players playing together.”Now, they have this connection. You see that they are so dominant in how they play and this has a lot to do with the work the clubs do.”I am from Real Sociedad and the way they work there, they put a lot of focus on the young players and they give them the potential. But I have to be honest, here at Chelsea they work really well and I’m really impre
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