Xabi Alonso's revolution at Bayer Leverkusen and the evolution of wingbacks

Bayer Leverkusen are on the brink of their maiden Bundesliga title. After finishing runners-up in the top flight of German football on five previous occasions and falling short at the final stretch on big occasions, the club is finally set to shed the unflattering "Neverkusen" tag. 

A win over Werder Bremen this Sunday will seal the league title for the club. Unbeaten across all competitions this season, Leverkusen are also in the hunt for the German Cup and Europa League titles. 

The club will face Kaiserslautern in the German Cup final next month, and in the Europa League, they beat English side West Ham 2-0 in the first leg of their quarterfinal on Thursday night. This seems like a far cry from where the club found itself in early October of 2022, when a rough start to the season saw Levekusen struggling in the relegation zone.

It was then that Xabi Alonso was appointed coach to steady the ship. One and a half years later, Alonso has managed to do much more than that. With a budget that pales in comparison to most of Europe's traditional heavyweights, Leverkusen have thrived under the Spaniard's enterprising tactics. 

The stats don't lie: there are already seven Leverkusen players with 14 or more goal contributions (goals plus assists) this season, and as many as 11 players have scored at least five goals each. In their 28 Bundesliga games, Leverkusen have managed an average possession of over 63 percent.

While there are many elements crucial to the effectiveness of the system at Alonso's Leverkusen, one of the key ones is the wingback pairing of Alex Grimaldo and Jeremie Frimpong. 

Spaniard Grimaldo, who was recruited on a free transfer from Benfica last summer, has been a revelation on Leverkusen's left flank this season. On the other hand, the more attack-minded Frimpong, a Dutch international, has been equally effective on the opposite flank.

Both players have been among Leverkusen's most lethal attacking weapons this season. Grimaldo has 26 goal contributions (11 goals and 15 assists), the second highest in the squad this season, while Frimpong has 23 (12 goals and 11 assists), the fourth highest.

While Leverkusen have dominated teams going forward, their defense has been extraordinary as well, conceding just 19 goals in 28 games in the league. The wingbacks' role in the same can't be understated, as effective use of the duo has brought tremendous fluidity to the team on the pitch.

There are occasions when Grimaldo steps back and takes a conventional left-back position, as Leverkusen switches to a back four, with Frimpong acting as a winger on the other flank. On other occasions, the German side can overload the midfield with five men, with their wingbacks filling the width and allowing the central midfielders more control in the middle. 

Depending on the opposition, they have switched around their formation multiple times, making them highly unpredictable and extremely difficult to play against.

Alonso, of course, is neither the first nor will be the last coach to employ wingbacks to such great effect. Over the decades, different iterations of the role have been seen. Positional fluidity among players has been an important element in the past for many legendary managers. 

Rinus Michels, Johan Cruyff, Pep Guardiola and many other managers across generations have placed great importance on this aspect.

In recent years, however, wingbacks have become increasingly common in the sport, with attack-minded fullbacks or defensively capable wingers being frequently used in the role by managers.

While different managers have had an impact on the evolution of the modern-day wingback, players like Roberto Carlos and his fellow Brazilian Dani Alves have also helped redefine the role of a conventional fullback and, as a consequence, that of a wingback.

Their attacking abilities offered managers a new way of looking at the role. It is no wonder that today, even when many of the world's top teams play a four-man backline, they try to ensure that their fullbacks get more involved in offensive duties. 

A prime example is Liverpool, whose fullbacks Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson have been a key part of the success achieved during the last few years under Jurgen Klopp. 

Making more use of a fullback on the attacking end may require tactical adaptability in other areas of the pitch, like having a holding midfielder offer more support to the center backs or similar tweaks. Managers like Klopp have done exactly that to ensure the team gets the maximum out of its fullbacks.

It is not just fullbacks who have taken on the mantle of wingbacks; many wingers with high work rates have also been used in the role. Antonio Conte's use of Victor Moses and Pedro at Chelsea comes to mind as an example. 

The likes of Ivan Perisic, Ashley Young, Jesus Navas and many others have comfortably switched to wingback positions due to their ability to cover large areas on the flanks.

At Leverkusen, Alonso's tactics have allowed his wingbacks to flourish, playing a key role in helping dominate possession, tiring out the opposition and unlocking defenses while also managing to keep things tight at the back. 

While the likes of Victor Boniface, Florian Wirtz, Edmond Tapsoba, Jonathan Tah, Granit Xhaka and many others have played their parts in Leverkusen's incredible season, Grimaldo and Frimpong's contributions have been unique in many ways. Their importance to the team underscores the continuous evolution of the wingback's role in modern football.