People survey damage after a severe storm moved through Friday, May 16, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
He exceeded expectations after Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes and chief executive Fernando Carro gave him his first job in senior management in October 2022.Now he will face different demands at Madrid, where he will be tasked with responding to a buoyant Barcelona team spearheaded by the outstanding Lamine Yamal and Brazil forward Raphinha supported by a cast of home-grown young stars such as Pedri and Gavi.
He will have to put the team’s top stars – Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham and Vinícius Júnior – back on track after they failed to help the team succeed toward the end of the season.Despite his success in leading Madrid to three Champions League titles, Ancelotti was considered a coach who largely let the players have their way, giving their individual brilliance full reign.Alonso is likely to be more structured with a clear idea of how he wants each player to fit into his team. One priority will be strengthening the defense after serious injuries there last season undermined Ancelotti’s hopes of defending the Spanish league and Champions League titles.
Madrid has already addressed that with the signing offrom Bournemouth. More arrivals are likely.
Whichever players come or go, Alonso will face the same demands — to get Madrid back on top in Spain and challenging for a record-extending 16th European crown.
It’s just his second job in senior management.Layoffs of that scale, he added, “will likely cripple the Department. The idea that Defendants’ actions are merely a ‘reorganization’ is plainly not true.”
Hours later, the Trump administration appealed the ruling.“Once again, a far-left Judge has dramatically overstepped his authority, based on a complaint from biased plaintiffs, and issued an injunction against the obviously lawful efforts to make the Department of Education more efficient and functional for the American people,” spokesperson Madi Biedermann said in a statement.
Joun ordered the Education Department to reinstate federal workers who were terminated as part of the March 11 layoff announcement.That announcement led to the firing of about 1,300 people. Some Education Department employees have left through buyout offers and the termination of probationary employees, which combined with the layoffs have reduced the staff to roughly half the 4,100 the department had when Trump took office.