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Xabi Alonso is a player that many will remember for his pinpoint accuracy in his passing ability, whether it be for Liverpool or Bayern Munich, Alonso was a mastermind in the center of midfield.
Xabi Alonso has a highly impressive club career winning the Champions League twice, Bundesliga three times and La Liga once amongst many other club honors, he has also won the World Cup once and The European Championship twice with Spain.
Whilst being mainly remembered for his long balls and accurate passing, he also possesses the ability to defend extremely well using his physical appearance and strength to bully attackers that are coming his way.
In addition to that the strength he has in his legs is phenomenal and that has been demonstrated many times in his long-shots, he has scored quite a few goals from around the halfway line, one I remember very well against Luton Town for Liverpool in the 2006 FA Cup competition where he scored from an unbelievable 70 yards out to beat the Town keeper in the dying seconds of the game.
It wasn’t the only time that happened though, he did it against Newcastle too and United’s keeper at the time was Steve Harper and he tells his version of the goal in this article down below.
Alonso is now a manager at the team who brought him up from a kid, Real Sociedad, he coaches their B team and has not started off too badly winning 12 games out of his first 28, which is not bad for his first try at management.
Xabi Alonso is sure to become a great coach in the future and will certainly be able to manage a top side when it comes to it.
We have gathered some of the best quotes the people in the world of football have said about this midfield genius, take a look below and enjoy! Here are a few quotes on Xabi Alonso
Steven Gerrard on Xabi Alonso- “It was clear Alonso was royalty after our first training session together in August 2004. He was, by some distance, the best central midfielder I ever played alongside.”
Jamie Carragher quotes about Xabi Alonso – “The first one that springs to mind is Xabi Alonso. I was devastated when he left for Real Madrid.”
Pepe Reina – “He is a quiet person and a lovely guy – a good team-mate. I don’t need to talk about him as a player; people know how good he is. He has got everything. He is one of the most complete midfielders in the world.”
John Arne Riise – “The pass master. Nobody can pass the ball like him. I remember on his debut at Anfield, it probably took him about 39 minutes before he misplaced a pass. Unbelievable player.”
Peter Crouch – “Before the Champions League final we were in Portugal and we went go-karting. We went round and I come in and flew into the pit, obviously where you’re supposed to stop. I thought right I’ll just brake now. No brakes whatsoever… so I’ve seen [Xabi] Alonso and I’ve seen Kuyt and I thought who’s more valuable? So I’ve swerved into Kuyt.
Pep Guardiola quotes on Xabi Alonso – “Xabi Alonso is an absolute world-class player. I wonder if the people at Real have asked themselves whether it was a good idea to let him go.”
Mesut Ozil – “I’ve never seen another player with his ability to play such fantastic passes.”
Rafael Benitez – “Xabi is very clever. He is good with long and short passes. He has more skill than strength and is intelligent.”
Carlo Ancelotti – “Xabi Alonso holds the key to everything. He is a very important player in this team, he has exceptional experience and qualities. He has that rare ability to see what is going to happen before it does.”
Jurgen Klopp about Xabi Alonso- “Xabi Alonso is an absolute world-class player. I wonder if the people at Real have already asked themselves whether it was a good idea to let him go.”
Vincente Del Bosque – “It’s very difficult to improve on what he has done. He leaves us with a fantastic legacy. He has been a great professional.”
Naby Keita – “When I used to play against Bayern, Xabi Alonso always used to give me a really hard time,he was so experienced, he made me suffer. The way he’d keep switching play just meant that you could never stop running. He was very intelligent.”
Joey Barton – “Xabi is one hell of a player, whose passes have a great range and accuracy. Whenever we played, I sought to get the game on my terms, which were relentlessly physical.”
Jupp Heynckes – “Xabi Alonso played at Liverpool and Real Madrid for five years each. He was always world class and confirmed this at Bayern.”
Matthias Sammer – “Xabi Alonso has incredible skills, passing and ball control. He has an eye for the game, he knows how to defend and he is physically strong. We will enjoy his time at the club.”
Roberto Mancini – “Barcelona players are passing the ball at least 25 times to reach the goal, while Xabi Alonso is doing this all in a single pass.”
Jose Mourinho – “Xabi Alonso is like a metronome, a player in the style of Xavi Hernández. I’m sure that when he hangs his boots up he’ll be a great coach. He reminds me of Pep Guardiola when he was a player: he already acts like a coach when he is on the field.”
Steve Harper – “The hardest part is not being able to explain it. I saw him hit it, I back-pedalled and I could have chested it down, but I just lost my footing and I couldn’t recover. It won’t be forgotten.”
Steven Gerrard – “If, totally hypothetically, I was going to become Liverpool manager one day I know who I’d love to have as my assistant: Xabi Alonso or Jamie Carragher.”
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge – “Xabi Alonso is one of the greats of world football. He has won everything there is to win during his career. He’s a thoroughly remarkable person, and a gentleman of the game.”
Fernando Torres when picking his Ultimate XI – “Midfield, I will pick Javier Mascherano as a holding midfielder, a player who all the teams need; hard work, good with the ball – a player that I loved to play alongside at Liverpool. And next to him will be Xabi Alonso, the perfect partner for him you could see in our time here altogether. Mascherano and Alonso are the perfect combination and we need Alonso’s quality with the ball to play.”
