Xabi Alonso wins Coach of the Year award

Bayer Leverkusen's Spanish coach Xabi Alonso has been awarded the German coach of the year award by the German Association of Sports Journalists (VDS) and 'Kicker' magazine.

According to the club, the Spanish coach  won the vote among the 751 members of the jury with 503 votes, and will receive it next Saturday, August 10th, in the pre-season friendly at the BayArena that will face Leverkusen and Real Betis.

Xabi Alonso thus becomes the first Spaniard to receive the award after a season in which he led the German club to the domestic double in Germany, with the first Bundesliga title in its history as the most outstanding success, in a season in which he accumulated an unbeaten run of 51 matches. 

So far in pre-season, Bayer Leverkusen have a 2-1 win over Rot-Weiss Essen and a 2-2 draw with Lens. After that, they will play Arsenal and on the 10th, at home, they will play the last match of the summer against Betis.