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Xabi Alonso
XAlonso2008
Personal information
Date of Birth

25 November 1981

Place of Birth

Tolosa, Spain

Height

1.83m (6'0")

Position

Midfielder

Liverpool statistics
Squad no.

14 (2004-2009)

Years

2004-2009

Appearances

210

Goals

19

Assists

18

Xabier "Xabi" Alonso Olano (born 25 November 1981) is a retired Spanish international footballer who played for Liverpool from 2004-2009. During that time he made 210 appearances and scored 19 goals. He departed for £30,000,000 in 2009, joining Spanish club Real Madrid.

Liverpool Career[]

Alonso arrived at Liverpool from Real Sociedad in August 2004, for a reported fee of £10,700,000. He made his debut for the club away at Bolton Wanderers on 29 August, a game that Liverpool lost 1-0.

On 16 October 2004, Alonso scored his first Liverpool goal- a stunning free-kick away to Fulham. Liverpool were losing 2-0 at half-time, but the Spaniard’s arrival as a substitute inspired a revival and an eventual 4-2 win.

Although a newcomer to the English league, Alonso impressed with his vision and an exceptional range of passing. After an initial settling-in period, he established himself as one of the mainstays of Liverpool's midfield. He has become a permanent fixture of Benitez' sides and has endeared many fans with his long-range passing ability and deft touches to open opposition teams up, plus his commitment in defending. These, coupled with his steady composure and the ability to shoot with confidence, qualify him as one of the best in Europe to play in the central-midfield role.

After breaking his ankle following a tackle from Frank Lampard in Liverpool's 1-0 defeat to Chelsea on New Year's Day 2005, Alonso was ruled out of action for more than three months. He made his return earlier than expected in the second leg of the Champions League quarter final against Juventus. In the absence of skipper Steven Gerrard through injury, Alonso played for all 90 minutes, as Liverpool gained an improbable 0-0 draw in Italy to defeat the eventual Italian Champions on aggregate. Gerrard would later repay the favour to Alonso in the very next round, when Alonso was suspended from the second leg of the semi-final against Chelsea. Gerrard steered Liverpool to a 1-0 win with the help of a Luis García goal, putting Liverpool in the final against A.C. Milan.

In the Champions League final, Alonso played a crucial role as Liverpool completed an incredible comeback from 3-0 down at half-time to level the scores at 3-3. At 3-2, Liverpool were awarded a penalty, which Alonso stepped up to take. While Dida, Milan's acclaimed Brazilian goalkeeper, managed to save the penalty, Alonso fired the rebound into the roof of the net, making it 3-3. Liverpool went on to win the European Cup on penalties, capping off a very successful first year for Xabi Alonso in England.

On 7 January 2006, in a thrilling FA Cup third-round tie against Luton Town, Alonso assisted Liverpool to a 5-3 comeback victory after being down 3-1 early in the second half, by scoring two amazing goals: one from 40 yards, and the other from well inside his own half (65 yards from goal), as the opposition keeper had gone to the Liverpool penalty area to attack a corner kick. Astonishingly, it later transpired that a Liverpool fan had earlier placed a £200 bet on Alonso scoring from within his own half at some point in the 2005-06 season, and won £25,000 as a result.

During a 3-1 victory over Portsmouth on 7 May 2006, Alonso suffered an injury to his ankle in the 41st minute, which put his participation in the FA Cup Final in doubt. He recovered sufficiently to start the game, however, and, despite having to be taken off during the second half, he ended the day with a winners' medal.

On 20 September 2006 Alonso scored what the BBC described as "an outrageous strike" from his own half against Newcastle in a midweek Premiership fixture. In an interview on Sky News television, Alonso claimed he practises such long-range goals in training. Both goals were very similar, struck from inside his own half, but Alonso was in no doubt which was the best. He said, "I think this was better. The Luton goal bounced a few times, this one went quite straight. The Luton one was left-footed - it was different - but I am quite happy to score the goal." It was his first goal for Liverpool since the goal against Luton, making him the only outfield player in the modern professional game to score two consecutive goals for his club from inside his own half of the pitch. Liverpool went on to win the game 2-0.

In the summer of 2008, Alonso was heavily linked with a move away from the club, with Arsenal rumoured to be one of the clubs interested in the Spaniard. Reports claimed that Rafael Benitez was happy for Alonso to leave, allowing the club to free up some much needed funds, and for Liverpool to bring in long-time target- Gareth Barry.

Neither move transpired in the summer, and Alonso remained at the club for the 2008-09 season. This proved to be his finest at the club, being a stalwart in midfield and putting in some very impressive performances as the Reds finished 2nd in the Premier League.

In the 2009 summer transfer window, after a large amount of speculation, Alonso signed with Real Madrid for a reported sum of around £30,000,000, the most Liverpool had ever received for a player at the time.

Fans at the time were very unhappy about his departure, with Alonso later claiming that part of the reason was due to his unhappiness about being available for transfer in 2008, but that he would always be a Liverpool fan and would raise his son to be the same.

Alonso left the club as a European Champion and an FA Cup winner. He made 210 appearances for Liverpool, scoring 19 goals and picking up 18 assists.

Honours[]

Liverpool[]

  • UEFA Champions League: 1 (2005)
  • FA Cup: 1 (2006)
  • UEFA Super Cup: 1 (2005)
  • Community Shield: 1 (2006)

Individual[]

Stats[]

Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
2004-05 24 2 0 0 0 0 8 1 0 0 32 3
2005-06 35 3 5 2 0 0 11 0 2 0 53 5
2006-07 32 4 1 0 2 0 15 0 1 0 51 4
2007-08 19 2 3 0 1 0 4 0 0 0 27 2
2008-09 33 4 3 0 1 0 10 1 0 0 47 5
Total 143 15 12 2 4 0 48 2 3 0 210 19
Season Apps Goals Assists G+A
2004-05 32 3 4 7
2005-06 53 5 7 12
2006-07 51 4 2 6
2007-08 27 2 1 3
2008-09 47 5 4 9
Total 210 19 18 37

External Links[]

Xabi Alonso career stats at Soccerbase

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