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      Xabi Alonso (Liverpool -> Real Madrid -> Bayern)

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      stuey
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      Re: Xabi Alonso (Liverpool -> Real Madrid)
      Reply #713: Jan 19, 2017 11:32:19 am
      Arab Scouse
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      Re: Xabi Alonso (Liverpool -> Real Madrid)
      Reply #714: Mar 09, 2017 11:27:35 am
      absolute legend, one of my favorite Liverpool players, oh I wish we had a player of his quality in the team today.
      RedWilly
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      Re: Xabi Alonso (Liverpool -> Real Madrid)
      Reply #715: Mar 09, 2017 12:33:47 pm
      Have you ever seen a cooler announcement of retirement?

      One slick fella is Xabi!!
      zz19a
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      Re: Xabi Alonso (Liverpool -> Real Madrid)
      Reply #716: Mar 09, 2017 12:39:32 pm
      Fantastic player!

      Best of luck.

       xxxxx:action-smiley-065: :scarf: :aaliverpool2xt1:
      Swab
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      Re: Xabi Alonso (Liverpool -> Real Madrid)
      Reply #717: Mar 09, 2017 01:35:59 pm
      When he was good, he was very good.


      Truth is, he had a lot of shockers for us as well, but became more consistent as he peaked, and then carried that on.
      Frankly, Mr Shankly
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      Re: Xabi Alonso (Liverpool -> Real Madrid)
      Reply #718: Mar 09, 2017 01:48:48 pm
      Think he could make a world class manager should he decide to go into coaching.
      FL Red
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      Re: Xabi Alonso (Liverpool -> Real Madrid)
      Reply #719: Mar 09, 2017 03:40:58 pm
      Stud.
      JD
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      Re: Xabi Alonso (Liverpool -> Real Madrid)
      Reply #720: Mar 09, 2017 04:12:16 pm


      Big players big picture.
      RedWilly
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      Re: Xabi Alonso (Liverpool -> Real Madrid)
      Reply #721: Mar 09, 2017 04:43:03 pm

      Those were the days! What I'd give to see two players as talented as them at Anfield again.
      PurpleMonkey
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      Re: Xabi Alonso (Liverpool -> Real Madrid)
      Reply #722: Mar 09, 2017 09:50:01 pm
      Billy1
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      Re: Xabi Alonso (Liverpool -> Real Madrid)
      Reply #723: Mar 10, 2017 03:04:21 am
      Xabi Alonso was class and how we missed him when he left.
      7-King Kenny-7
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      Re: Xabi Alonso (Liverpool -> Real Madrid)
      Reply #724: Mar 10, 2017 04:51:32 pm
      Thought he announced this was his last season a few months ago?
      PurpleMonkey
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      Re: Xabi Alonso (Liverpool -> Real Madrid)
      Reply #725: Mar 10, 2017 05:14:19 pm
      Thought he announced this was his last season a few months ago?

      I dont think he officially announced it until yesterday or two? It was the press that leaked it before I believe.

      http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11669/10797110/xabi-alonso-playing-for-liverpool-was-so-special-to-me
      mcarz
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      Re: Xabi Alonso (Liverpool -> Real Madrid)
      Reply #726: Mar 10, 2017 09:32:50 pm
      Extremely talented player and a genuinely nice person. Good luck in your retirement Xabi!
      LondonRed83
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      Re: Xabi Alonso (Liverpool -> Real Madrid)
      Reply #727: Mar 10, 2017 09:36:32 pm
      https://twitter.com/xabialonso/status/840197582634799106

      Absolute legend. I remember Rafa bringing him in for Β£10m and straight in the first 11.

      Biggest memory for me was Juventus away and he just got back from injury... absolutely bossed the midfield and saw us through to the next round.

      PurpleMonkey
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      Re: Xabi Alonso (Liverpool -> Real Madrid)
      Reply #728: Mar 11, 2017 12:08:49 am
       Carragher on Xabi Alonso 3/10/2017

      Xabi Alonso was Liverpool's pass master and it broke my heart when we got rid of him... the wounds have never healed and the game will miss him

      Quote from: Xabi Alonso, November 22, 2014
      I came from my hometown team, to the best team in England; to the best team in Spain; to the best team in Germany. It’s a beautiful career

      And this summer that 'beautiful career', which has taken him from Real Sociedad to Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich will be over. So far, there have been 16 major honours β€” including the World Cup and two Champions Leagues β€” and he collected 114 caps for Spain.

      Every word of praise that has come Xabi's way since he confirmed his intention to retire on Thursday has been deserved. The decision to call time, while not unexpected, was another sign this golden era for midfielders β€” which included Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard β€” is almost over.

      The tributes you will have seen show his standing in the game but what I want to do is give you an insight into why Xabi is so revered and how, in some ways, his departure from Liverpool in 2009 was so significant in the club's modern history. It's not a topic I have discussed in great detail before.

      When I think of Xabi, my mind goes back to the first training session he had at Melwood in August 2004. And the same word always leaps out: wow! Rafa Benitez had talked him up before he arrived and immediately you understood.

      It was the pace he put on a pass and the expert way he delivered a ball that showed him to be a top player. In one of his first games against Norwich, I had never seen a display of passing like it. You knew as a defender if you gave him the ball, it was in the safest hands.

      He could use both feet β€” look at how he took a penalty in the 2005 Champions League final with his right foot, saw it saved and converted the rebound with his left foot to bring us back to 3-3 β€” and scored spectacular goals, with two of his 19 for Liverpool coming from the halfway line! There was much more, though, than what you saw on the pitch.

      Xabi embraced life in Liverpool. He lived in the Albert Dock, in the heart of the city and he, along with Pepe Reina, became a great link in the dressing room between the new lads who were arriving from Spain and the old guard of me, Stevie, Sami Hyypia, Didi Hamann and John Arne Riise.

      He was a strong character, loved by the fans, so when Benitez wanted to sell him in 2008 there was uproar and there was an episode during a pre-season game with Lazio at Anfield when the Kop sang 'You can stick your Gareth Barry up your a***' about his potential replacement.

      Rafa's intention was to off-load Xabi for Β£30million and buy Barry for half that price. The appeal of Barry was that he was English and could play in two or three positions. But, believe it or not, only Juventus and Arsenal were keen to take Xabi.

      When it became clear those interested in Xabi were only prepared to pay Β£15m β€” and Aston Villa wanted Β£30m for Barry β€” the club pulled the plug. I, along with a lot of others, was delighted but there's no doubt the intervention caused problems, with Rafa and Xabi, and Rafa and the board.

      It was a pivotal moment. Xabi stayed and his form surpassed the level of his spectacular first year. We finished runners-up to Manchester United in 2009 but when Real Madrid arrived on the scene for him, I became fearful he would go as the wounds of 12 months earlier had not healed.

      This is where I have my biggest problem. I had no issue with Xabi wanting to join Real β€” for Spanish players that is the pinnacle β€” but I couldn't understand why Benitez didn't hold out an olive branch to sort things out.

      Benitez had his best team in five years at Anfield. We were close to having a team that could win the Premier League and perhaps reach another Champions League final. Why did he have to continue the fight with Xabi? He had won the initial battle by getting the upturn in his form.

      What's more, Xabi was under contract, so Liverpool didn't have to sell. They proved that the same summer when not letting Javier Mascherano join Barcelona. But the writing was on the wall for Xabi and things were never really the same after he left.

      The team suffered in what proved to be Benitez's final year. Alberto Aquilani, Xabi's replacement, arrived from Roma with an injury β€” he didn't play until October 2009 β€” and he wasn't good enough to fill the void. The way our team functioned broke down.

      At a basic level, I would give the ball to Xabi, he would pass it on to Stevie and the final ball would go to Fernando Torres. It was quick passing, Xabi's impeccable touch made it all come together, but Aquilani was never able to have the same input. Xabi's departure affected everyone.

      Our loss, of course, was Madrid's gain and his c.v. accurately reflects his ability. I used to tell him when he first arrived at Liverpool that Spain would never win anything because they lacked power and stamina in tournaments and, in the 2006 World Cup, that point was proven when France beat them 3-1.

      My words, however, would come back to haunt me. In 2008, when they won the European Championship in Austria, I got a phone call late in the night following their 1-0 victory over Germany to begin a spell that changed football for a generation.

      'Carra! Carra!' it was Xabi, in party mode, on the end of the line. 'You said we'd win nothing!'

      He then put on a fake Scouse accent: 'Spain? Spain! Can't run! Can't run! You can **** off!'

      That was followed by howls of laughter from him, Pepe, Torres β€” who had scored the winning goal in Vienna β€” and Alvaro Arbeloa. I had to take my medicine and it was one of the rare occasions when I was happy to be proven wrong!

      One thing I will predict with certainty, though, is that once Xabi finishes playing for Bayern Munich β€” the dream send-off would be the Champions League final in Cardiff on June 3 β€” he will not be lost to football. He has too much to offer.

      I can see him managing a top club or, perhaps, being a sporting director but, knowing him, he will not rush into any decision. When June comes, he deserves the chance to reflect on what has been a beautiful career.

      http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4302578/Liverpool-getting-rid-Alonso-broke-Carragher-s-heart.html
      7-King Kenny-7
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      Re: Xabi Alonso (Liverpool -> Real Madrid)
      Reply #729: Mar 11, 2017 12:50:10 am
      Hope Bayern win the Champions League this season. Will be the perfect end to a wonderful career for him and what would be his 4th time winning it?

      Would love us to get another Xabi, a player like Suarez, that we simply haven't been able to replace.

      Pepe, Hyypia, Carra, Gerrard, Masch, Alonso, Torres. Along with the likes of Kuyt and Arbeloa. He was part of our best team for a long time. Just a shame Suarez wasn't a part of that or we could have been completely dominant.
      AussieRed
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      Re: Xabi Alonso (Liverpool -> Real Madrid)
      Reply #730: Mar 11, 2017 04:36:34 am
      Legend. Good Luck in retirement Xabi. Looks like we might be seeing you around Anfield a bit more after the Season finishes.
      shabbadoo
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      Re: Xabi Alonso (Liverpool -> Real Madrid)
      Reply #731: Mar 11, 2017 08:23:59 am
      Jimsouse67
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      Re: Xabi Alonso (Liverpool -> Real Madrid)
      Reply #732: Mar 11, 2017 12:59:28 pm
      Just six words.
      One hell of a F***ing player.
      Tayls
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      Re: Xabi Alonso (Liverpool -> Real Madrid)
      Reply #733: Mar 11, 2017 01:32:22 pm
      He was probably, alongside Stevie of course, my favourite player whilst at the club and I still think alienating him was one of Benitez's biggest mistakes. Had that ability that the best in his position have, to look unhurried and make difficult passes look incredibly easy with his amazing technique.

      Well done Xabi on a phenomenal career. Hope to see him back at Anfield/Melwood one day in some capacity.
      David Wright
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      Re: Xabi Alonso (Liverpool -> Real Madrid)
      Reply #734: Mar 11, 2017 02:14:39 pm
      I have just seen the goal, that he scored from roughly the half way line. What a great player we had, in him. Hope that his retirement goes well.
      Tayls
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      Re: Xabi Alonso (Liverpool -> Real Madrid)
      Reply #735: Mar 11, 2017 10:04:35 pm
      Just wondering what people's choice would be here, if it was only possible to have one future manager out of Xabi and Stevie, who would you choose?

      Personally I'd go for Xabi, I think the pressure would be less on him.

      Tough to say, especially considering we don't know if Xabi is even after that kind of job in the future. I'd say he's bloody sharp though and he was always a team player so I think he'd "get" how to be a manager.

      Considering neither have actually done it yet - and Xabi isn't even definitely going into coaching anytime soon - I'd say we'd have to leave sentimentality out of it and see how they get on in terms of the badges and on the job experience. Get what you're saying about the pressure thing though, the whole Stevie G back at Anfield in the dugout story would be horribly overdone by the media no doubt and there would be immense pressure and scrutiny of him.

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