Capital: | € 4.5 million |
---|---|
Age: | 38 |
Born: | November 25, 1981 |
Country of origin: | Spain |
Source of wealth: | Soccer player |
Last updated: | 2024 |
Short introduction
Xabi Alonso, who is known as a midfield strategist, has twice won the coveted Champions League title with his exceptional talent. His precise passes, speed, and tactical sophistication make the 38-year-old one of the best midfielders of his time.
Early life
La barba roja, as Xabi Alonso is also called, was born on November 25, 1981 in Tolsa, Spain. His father Periko Alonso, was a football player of FC Barcelona and won the Spanish championship twice as a player of Real Sociedad. It is therefore not surprising that Xabi Alonso’s football career started at Real Sociedad in the youth department.
Career
At the age of 19, he made his debut in Real Sociedad’s first team. After the 2000/2001 season, in which he was awarded to the SD Eibar, he established himself as a regular player in his youth club and at the age of 20 he was already its team captain. Xabi Alonso played a significant part in his performance in second place in Real Sociedad in the 2002/2003 season. The following year he and his team made it to the knockout stages of the premier class. In 2004 his path led him to Liverpool, with which he won the long-awaited Champions League trophy in his first year. His equalizer to 3: 3, which led to the extension in the final against FC Milan, made this dream a reality. Five years later, in 2009, he switched to soccer giant Real Madrid. Alonso won the Spanish Cup with his club in 2011 and his first national championship title in the 2011/12 season. In the 2014 UEFA Champions League final, Alonso was absent due to a suspension. After a successful time at Real Madrid, he left the club as a freshly won Champions League winner and moved to FC Bayern Munich. During his time with the German record champion, he won the German championship three times. 2015, In the DFB Cup game, Borussia Dortmund beat Munich 2-0 on penalties. In the same year, the Munich team missed the final due to a 0-3 defeat in the first leg at FC Barcelona, despite a 3-2 victory in the second leg. The following year, the Pep Guardiola team missed the DFB Cup and in the Champions League, Alonso’s former Real Madrid club proved to be too strong a competitor. In 2017, after the end of his contract term, Xabi Alonso ended his active career as a player. Today he works as a trainer. In 2018/2019, the first coach gained experience in the U14 of his former Real Madrid club. Today he has returned to his youth club and coaches the second team of Real Sociedad with his expertise.
He made his Spanish national team debut in 2004. His greatest success came when he won the 2010 World Cup against the Netherlands. The Spanish team in the European Championship final against Germany was very successful in winning 1-0. Four years later, they repeated their success in the final against Italy, winning 4-0 with a clear score.
Career highlights
World Champion: 2010
European champion: 2008, 2012
UEFA Champions League: 2005, 2014
UEFA Champions League finalist: 2007
UEFA Super Cup: 2005, 2014
Spanish champion: 2012
German champion: 2015, 2016, 2017
DFB Cup 2016
DFL Supercup: 2016
Spanish Cup: 2011, 2014
English Cup: 2006
Player of the year in Spain: 2003
Best midfielder in the Primera División: 2012
UEFA All Star team of the 2012 European Championship
Classification as world class in the ranking of German football: winter 2014/15
Famous quotes
You have to win a final, not play it.
We laid siege to the penalty area for ten minutes but scored no goal. Then Puyol stormed like a young wild boar and scored the goal.
To make my game better, I need players around me who are better than me.
My style of play is not designed to have a great action. I know what my strengths and weaknesses are on the pitch.
It is my duty to be risk-averse.
I am committed to Bayern until 2017. I want to win the Bundesliga again. I want to win the (DFB) Cup again. I want to win the Champions League for the third time with another club. I want to win everything there is to win. And then maybe I will stop.
Amazing facts
In 2019, Alonso had to answer two million euros from the marketing of his image rights for suspected tax evasion between 2010 and 2012. He has now been acquitted and is training Real Sociedad’s second team.
Xabi Alonso would not have thought it would ever be possible to become a football player, as this statement confirms: “I lived a normal life until I was 16 years old. Normal school. Normal upbringing. I was lucky that I didn’t have to cut back on my youth because football can take everything. In the long run, that helped my view of life. ”