Xabi Alonso : Do Liverpool really need him?

Xabi Alonso

Being a Liverpool fan, Xabi Alonso always has and will have a special place in my heart and I am hoping that Liverpool manage to buy him in January or get him as a free agent next summer. Xabi Alonso, is a self professed Liverpool supporter and he has claimed many times that he has some unfinished business left at Liverpool.

Xabi will be 32 next year and buying him goes against FSG’s policy of buying young talent who have a scope for improving. Besides, Liverpool have Allen, Lucas and Henderson along with their Skipper to fight for the central midfield position.Does it really make sense to spend so much on his wages instead of opting for a defensive midfielder?

The thing with Xabi is that his work has always been underrated. Inspite of playing a big part in Spain’s all conqueirng team he has always been mentioned after Xavi and Iniesta. While Xavi and Iniesta have no doubt played an important role for Spain’s success, they were clearly ineffective in the Confederations cup where someone like Xabi was sorely missed. Sergio Busquets has an excellent tactical aptitude but he is not the one who can provide the vision for forward passes as Xabi does.

Spain’s struggle against the likes of Finland, France continue to emphasize the importance of Xabi Alonso to their setup. Without Alonso, the entire pressure of passing comes on Xavi’s shoulders. At 35, it is clear that he is not able to effectively cope up with that load and Spain’s chances of winning the world cup will more likely depend on the availability of Xabi Alonso.

Similarly, Real Madrid have failed to shine especially in away games this season without Xabi and it is absolutely clear why. Modric, Illaramendi and Khedira for all their talent simply don’t possess the flair of Alonso to control the game with a well tuned mixture of short and long passes. The impact of Alonso was more clear than ever when Ferguson used Welbeck to man mark Xabi in order to limit Madrid’s attacking threat. While Ronaldo‘s goals may be considered pivotal to the three trophies Madrid have won in the last three years, it is impossible to neglect the role Alonso played in each of them.

Considering that two of the world’s greatest teams have failed to cope with the absence of Xabi, it would be extremely foolish to think that bringing Xabi Alonso would not be an impact signing for Liverpool especially if Liverpool are serious of challenging in Europe next season. Gary Mcallister along with the recent signings of Bellamy and Kolo Toure have shown that age is just a number and hunger to succeed is all that matters and Xabi Alonso can certainly join them in completing his unfinished business at Liverpool. Rodgers has been opting for a mixture of possession and counter attacking approach in recent games and there is no player who can do that better than Xabi. Hoping to see Xabi back in Red next season!