Boo Zende, the former team-mate of Xabi Alonso at Liverpool also worked as assistant to Rafa Benitez during his stint at Chelsea
Morgan King Content Creator
15:05, 18 May 2026
Alonso will join his new club as manager on a four-year deal in July(Image: John Walton/PA Wire)
Former Liverpool player Bolo Zenden has expressed doubts about Xabi Alonso‘s decision to take the reins at Chelsea after the ex-Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid boss’ appointment was confirmed on Sunday.
Zenden, whose 47 appearances for Liverpool from 2005 to 2007 came during Alonso’s time as a player at Anfield, was himself a part of Chelsea’s coaching staff under interim manager Rafa Benitez in the 2012-13 season.
Alonso was many supporters’ preferred candidate to take over from Jurgen Klopp in 2024 and was constantly linked with the Liverpool job by European sources since parting ways with Madrid in January, but has now signed a four-year contract at Stamford Bridge to replace the previous permanent manager, Liam Rosenior.
The news has arrived with incumbent Reds head coach Arne Slot under pressure from supporters after a season in which he has overseen 19 defeats, and with squad members reacting positively on social media to departing star Mohamed Salah‘s criticism of his tactics.
READ MORE: Liverpool ‘have to be careful’ with Arne Slot as Alexander Isak issue addressedREAD MORE: ‘Mohamed Salah’s Liverpool statement was madness and lacked class, Reds legends wouldn’t do it’
Though all indications from club sources suggest the intention of the Liverpool hierarchy is to back Slot, and the Dutchman is insisting he is involved in talks over summer signings, Alonso was seen as the logical replacement if FSG‘s faith ran out – given he ended Bayern Munich’s 11-year grip on the Bundesliga title and led Leverkusen to an unprecedented unbeaten domestic season in 2023-24.
Instead, Alonso will now oversee the project to revive Chelsea’s fortunes. However, in an interview with Boyle Sports, who offer the latest World Cup odds, Zenden admitted his uncertainty as to whether the London club are the right destination for his former team-mate.
“I’d be cautious about Xabi Alonso to Chelsea,” said Zenden. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea and I think you have to take a few things in mind.
“First of all, he has a history with Liverpool and he’s not been a manager in England yet. Now, I remember when I was assistant coach to Rafa Benitez when he joined Chelsea, I was there and I saw what happened to Benitez with the Chelsea fans.
“They never really took him on because of his history at Liverpool. He was a manager there and not a player so it might be slightly different, but I’d be cautious.”
Despite winning the UEFA Europa League, finishing third in the Premier League and making the semi-finals of the FA Cup, Benitez was never a long-term option for Chelsea given the ferocity of supporters’ disdain towards him after leading Liverpool during the peak of the two clubs’ rivalry during the 2000s.
Benitez replaced a Champions League-winning manager in Roberto Di Matteo and was distrusted for his history at Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)
Though fan opinion towards the Spaniard had softened somewhat by the end of his six months in charge, Chelsea supporters chanted for former manager Jose Mourinho after the Europa League final, whose return was confirmed the following month.
Given Alonso was a key cog in that Reds ide that went toe-to-toe with Chelsea so often during that time, will he be offered a warmer welcome?
The likelihood is that he will, given the Chelsea faithful’s memories are far less fresh than they were upon Benitez’s arrival 14 years ago, but Zenden had other concerns.
“”The other thing is,” he continued, “when he was at Real Madrid, Xabi Alonso, there obviously was some criticism that he couldn’t really cope with the star attitudes from certain players.
“And I think he was used to managing in Germany where the players are more likely to follow the manager, whereas when he was at Madrid, some just played their own game.
“How will that be at Chelsea if there are some bigger names on bench and not playing in Europe? I think as a manager you have to be really thoughtful of your choices.
“Because, let’s say, if you go to Madrid and you get the sack after six or eight months, then maybe you move to Chelsea and it’s not going well, you get [the] sack again, those are not just scratches – they are scars, and it might harm your managerial career.”
Though the attitude of some of Chelsea’s players has been questioned this season – not least by their own supporters – the situation in Madrid has been nothing short of farcical, with players involved in multiple training ground fights and supporters roundly jeering the team during games.
But there are similarities to be drawn between the two clubs’ current issues. Chelsea’s squad planning has been criticised for depriving the team of experienced leaders who can guide the club’s plethora of young players through a season.
Meanwhile, Madrid have recently lost the expertise of seasoned campaigners like Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Karim Benzema – leaving a power vacuum in the changing room that has allowed more disruptive influences to go unchecked.
Whether or not Alonso will encounter these issues on the same scale at Stamford Bridge remains to be seen. But joining Chelsea, a club where managers rarely last long, could certainly be viewed as a big risk for one of Europe’s most promising coaches.
FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE! All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo’s dedicated LFC Facebook page