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Former Roma boss Jose Mourinho lauds ex-pupil's achievements as 'Something Special' with Bundesliga Champions Bayer Leverkusen.
Jose Mourinho has praised his former player, Xabi Alonso, lauding the Bayer Leverkusen head coach for his "extraordinary" achievements in guiding the club to a historic Bundesliga title triumph this season.
The former Manchester United and Chelsea manager spoke glowingly about Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella’s coach during an exclusive with Football.com as monitored by Pulse Sports Nigeria.
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Alonso's Extraordinary Feats
Writing in the column, Mourinho was effusive in his admiration for the job Alonso has done at the BayArena after leading the Werkself to a first-ever Bundesliga title unbeaten..
"I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and acknowledge how happy I was to see Xabi Alonso, a friend, a former player of mine, a fantastic young man, succeeding in Germany," Mourinho said.
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"Unlike a lot of coaches of the new generations who are considered great without having done anything special, this one can be classed as a great coach because he has done something extraordinary."
Mourinho's Leverkusen Memories
The Portuguese also reflected on Roma's Europa League encounters with Leverkusen last season, when his side eliminated the team in the semi-finals of UEFA’s second-tier club competition.
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"When Roma eliminated Bayer Leverkusen last season with a win and a draw, without conceding a goal, and qualified for the Europa League final, this was indeed a great achievement because, if I'm not mistaken, this may have been Leverkusen's last defeat."
Alonso's Fairy-Tale Campaign
Mourinho's glowing tribute comes on the back of Alonso masterminding one of the most remarkable underdog stories in recent memory, leading Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga crown.
The former Liverpool and Bayern Munich midfielder has overseen a fairy-tale campaign at the BayArena, with his charges dethroning perennial champions Bayern Munich without losing a single game.
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Alonso and his champions still have four matches to play in the Bundesliga and remain in the hunt for an unprecedented treble with the DFB-Pokal final and Europa League still to fight for.
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