The rise and rise of Xabi Alonso

Xabi Alonso for Real Madrid

Reading through transfer rumours in the summer provides for some great entertainment, just down to their sheer comical nature. Xabi Alonso to Bayern would have made me laugh under normal circumstances. Until it actually became a reality. Usually, when the talk is about “arrived for a medical”, things start getting serious. In a matter of around 5 days the transfer was completed: the fee believed to be in the region of 8 million pounds.

Pittance, in my opinion, for one of the best defensive midfielders to grace the football pitch in the last decade. Let me just put this into context for you. He won 4 major trophies at Liverpool, including that dramatic Champions League win against AC Milan, 6 major trophies at Real Madrid, including the league title in 2011/12 and the elusive La Decima in the 2013/14 season.

On the international side of things, it gets even better; the World Cup of 2010 sandwiched by two Euros in 2008 and 2012. Success has followed him wherever he has gone.

Great passer and good reading of the game

Xabi Alonso has a natural position, and that is to sit in front of his back 4. He usually works great with a partner, at Liverpool it was Steven Gerrard and at Real Madrid, it was first Sami Khedira and then Luka Modric.

Without the ball, Alonso specializes in breaking up play using his robust frame to his advantage as he puts in those crunching tackles to great effect. He has a superior reading of the game which allows him to anticipate danger beforehand, as he makes up for his lack of pace by positioning himself well.

Here’s a short video that explains how important Xabi Alonso was defensively to Real Madrid:

However, with the ball is when you really see the artistry of “the professor”. Helping the transition between defense and attack, Alonso distributes the ball with military precision. Just take a look at this pass to Mesut Ozil from deep inside his own half:

From deep, Alonso retains the ball under pressure, slows the game down if required and speeds it up (very often under Jose Mourinho) by spreading the ball into the channels for the wing wizards to take over.

From Sociedad to Munich

The statistics make for good reading as well. Last season alone, Alonso’s average pass length was 19 metres, only eclipsed by the centre backs and the goal-keepers, boasting an incredible 88% passing accuracy.

Alonso began showing his potential at Real Sociedad under the tutelage of the then manager John Toshack. Given the captaincy at the tender age of 20, Alonso blossomed. In the 2002/ 03 season, Sociedad achieved a remarkable 2nd place finish in the league behind Real Madrid with Alonso contributing 12 goals in all competitions.

Inevitably Alonso moved to greener pastures and soon found himself under fellow Spaniard Rafael Benitez in the north west of England. Quickly becoming a fan favorite, Alonso’s ability to control games soon became apparent. Take a look at this fantastic all round performance against Norwich:

Alonso was instrumental in Liverpool’s historic champions league triumph that year, scoring the all -important equalizer against A.C Milan in one of the greatest comebacks in European history.

He soon found himself being pushed out of Anfield, much to the protest of the fans, and soon enough he found himself at the Bernabeu, after an intense summer spending spree by the Madrid club, which saw the signatures of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, and Raul Albiol amongst others.

Under all of the managers at the Bernabeu, Alonso was a fixture in the team, laying the foundation for other players to flourish. He played an integral part of the title winning team under Jose Mourinho in 2011/12 and the Champion’s league winning side of 2013/14 (although he didn’t play in the final, his return to the team after an injury saw a resurgence in form).

Guardiola and Bayern Munich must be sitting pretty as they have signed a world- class midfielder for less than 10 million pounds. Yes, he is getting on in years and in November he will turn 33. However, much like his Italian counter-part Andrea Pirlo, Xabi Alonso looks to be getting better with age, like fine wine. The future looks bright for Bayern.