Premier League 100: Xabi Alonso was Liverpool’s smooth midfield shield - a man who did everything with authority

At No54 in The Independent's 100 greatest Premier League players is Xabi Alonso, a master passer of the ball who understood his own limitations and maximised his strengths

It was around this time three years ago, I went to Munich to interview Xabi Alonso. It was beginning to snow but Alonso was wearing flip flops as footballers tend to do no matter the conditions when they possess a sense of place. It was an immediate sign to me that Alonso felt comfortable in his surroundings; that he felt relaxed enough in himself to wear minimal clothing around other great footballers and great football people.

Manuel Neuer strode past and he was the size of an Alpine retreat but he wore flip flops. Managers never seem wear flip flops for some reason but Pep Guardiola engaged with Alonso like they were friends rather than boss and employee. Guardiola selected him 39 times that season and he was always involved as far as the biggest games were concerned.

Alonso, at 34, remained a key player at one of the best club sides in Europe. Guardiola had said that 85 per-cent of his team’s play was directed through Alonso and that made him a “funnel.” This made me think about his departure from Liverpool, the way Rafael Benitez lost his one PR war in trying to sell him because he was already a Champions League winner and fans knew the midfielder had not reached his peak in spite of a few inconsistent seasons where he wasn’t always selected. This was supported by what happened next: an outstanding campaign with Liverpool, subsequently earning a move to Real Madrid where he performed with distinction, winning everything he could have won at international level as well as club.

It is tricky defining what marks a truly great Premier League footballer so I have set my own simple guidelines. He must have either A) had a major bearing on the environment of the competition, B) shaped the history of the club he represented, or C) challenged wider perceptions about the expectations of his position. Whereas Eric Cantona, for example, would fit categories A and B but not necessarily C, someone like Matt Le Tissier would feature in B but not A or C.

Alonso may have had more of an argument in A had he stayed longer at Anfield – though he did score that equaliser in a Champions League final, let’s not forget. I think he falls into C because while he played in England, the discussion around the national team’s lack of success centred largely on the absence of a midfielder who could do exactly what Alonso did for Liverpool: keep possession patiently and fill the gaps allowing others who were certainly no more creative than him nevertheless do their stuff higher up the pitch.

Alonso believed England did have that midfielder in Michael Carrick and he questioned publicly why no England manager seemed to want to use him even though he was playing every week for one of the most exciting Manchester United sides in history, performing more or less the same role as Alonso’s.

For four years in the early part of this century, each club was looking for its own midfield shield: the next Claude Makelele. The vision of Alonso and Andrea Pirlo moved this discussion along to the next stage but in real terms there was only one Pirlo and ultimately, one Alonso.

Listening to him in Munich, it became clear that one his core strengths was to understand his own limitations. He was not a runner because of the strength of his thighs and this meant he knew he had to be quicker in his mind. John Toshack, the Liverpool legend, had given him his debut as a teenager, though he had not joined Real Sociedad’s academy until he was 16 – a decision made by his father who had also been a professional footballer with his hometown club as well as Barcelona. Alonso had studied in Kells in Ireland for a summer and he had other interests outside of football but that did not mean he loved football less. It seemed to increase his understanding of how the game should be played.

Benitez’s decision to let him leave Liverpool in the summer of 2008 was controversial. He believed Alonso would fetch a fee of £30m and with half of that money, he’d be able to sign Gareth Barry. Arsenal wanted Alonso but were only willing to spend £15m and Martin O’Neill, the Aston Villa manager, was furious with Liverpool’s public pursuit of Barry and ended up setting an asking price that was double what Liverpool expected.

Alonso rapidly became a fan favourite at Anfield (AFP/Getty Images)

It resulted in Alonso starting his best season for Liverpool on the bench, with Damien Plessis chosen instead to start the opening game at Sunderland which Liverpool won but only after Alonso’s half-time introduction for Plessis. With that, Liverpool’s game became smoother. His relationship with Benitez was strained thereafter but the whiplash of being told he wasn’t wanted seemed to drive Alonso on to new levels.

Back in Munich, I would see all of the attributes that were on display a decade earlier in his first season at Liverpool when he was just 22 years old. Benitez would sign some duds for Liverpool but when he spent big, he spent well and Alonso was the first of the recruits that fell into that category. Both Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher recalled his first training session at Melwood clearly. “It was the way he struck the ball,” Carragher said. “Everything he did came with the sort of authority you only see in a few players.”