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Both Tottenham and Bournemouth expressed interest in hiring Imanol Alguacil, the former Real Sociedad manager, after he demonstrated exceptional football in LaLiga.
The 55-year-old coach spent seven years at Sociedad, guiding the team to victory in the Copa del Rey in 2020 – the club’s first trophy in 34 years – while elevating them from a 15th place finish to the Last 16 in both the Champions League and Europa League.
Under his leadership, the Basque coach’s squad showcased exciting football and achieved recognition for having one of the top three defenses in LaLiga for several seasons.
This earned him admiration from some of the world’s premier managers, including Jose Mourinho from Real Madrid, Luis Enrique of Paris Saint-Germain, and Diego Simeone from Atletico Madrid.
SunSport can reveal that Tottenham and Bournemouth aimed to recruit the Spanish coach after he left Anoeta in 2025.
The Spurs contemplated bringing Alguacil on board in May 2025, prior to hiring Thomas Frank, which resulted in one of their most disappointing Premier League seasons where they narrowly avoided relegation.
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During this time, Bayer Leverkusen also showed interest, considering him a potential successor to Xabi Alonso, with Sevilla and Porto monitoring his progress as well.
Reports from the Olympiacos Roundtable indicate that Bournemouth kept a close watch on the Sociedad legend, who had also played for the club for eight years in the 90s, throughout the last summer.
Bournemouth aimed to recruit Alguacil as the ideal replacement for Andoni Iraola, who announced his departure in April.
It’s worth mentioning that Alguacil has a perfect record against Iraola, having won all six of their meetings, with five victories over the former Mirandes and Rayo Vallecano manager.
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However, sources reveal that the timing wasn’t perfect for Alguacil, prompting Bournemouth to hire Marco Rose instead.
The Premier League teams were particularly impressed with Alguacil’s talent development, including players like Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino, Mikel Oyarzabal, Alexander Isak, and Robin Le Normand.
Since leaving Saudi Arabia club Al-Shabab in February, Alguacil has been without a club.
He has now joined Olympiacos, who recently parted ways with their legendary manager, Jose Luis Mendilibar.
Alguacil’s record at Sociedad included 153 wins and 95 losses across 330 matches, which led Mourinho, 63, to note the difficulty he faced in pinpointing weaknesses in Alguacil’s team while coaching Roma.
The former Manchester United and Chelsea manager commented, “It’s challenging to identify weaknesses in Real Sociedad. Imanol is an exceptional coach; he oversees a well-prepared team.”
“In addition to their quality, they can adapt their systems from match to match or even during a game.”
Enrique, 56, remarked that Sociedad displayed the finest football in LaLiga under Alguacil, with whom he encountered as PSG’s manager.
The back-to-back European champion remarked: “What an amazing team, what fervor! They are impressive. I dare say: Real Sociedad is undoubtedly the Spanish team that plays the best football. Imanol Alguacil deserves recognition.”
Simeone, 56, praised Alguacil for cultivating a strong identity at Sociedad, aiding the club to a fourth-place finish in LaLiga three years ago, which was the best in a decade.
The Argentine coach, who faced Alguacil three times and suffered defeats each time, said, “He has done a tremendous and extraordinary job since he took over. He has a well-defined style, and it’s a pleasure to watch them play.”
