“Real Madrid is a big club, and like at any other big club, too, there are always critics after defeats.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I feel very comfortable with the system used by Mourinho. It’s a very dynamic 4-2-3-1 that can easily change to 4-3-3 or 4-1-4-1 depending on the moment or the team’s needs. He really knows what he wants.”
― Xabi Alonso
“You need to have the same ideas to work as a team, to have a good team spirit. And you don’t get there in a day or even a month. It takes some time to get there.”
― Xabi Alonso
“The midfielders are important: they have to offer themselves to receive the ball and make good use of it, take choices, try not to lose the ball and defend. But I don’t feel like a leader at all.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Sometimes that kind of last-ditch tackle can get the crowd excited, and you get a push from that. It’s important to play with that psychological side of the game, but it depends on the quality of the player.”
― Xabi Alonso
“If you win the midfield, you probably win the game. But that doesn’t mean the players in the midfield are the ones alone who determine that, because now we have strikers who drop into midfield and defenders who move up into the midfield. It is the area you must dominate.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I know what my strengths and weaknesses are on the pitch. My duty is to be risk averse.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Of course it’s better to have good players to build a better team. But to build a team, you need to have time.”
― Xabi Alonso
“People in Liverpool are very welcoming.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I used to enjoy watching Ronald Koeman, even though he didn’t play in my position. I loved the way he hit the ball, the talent he had to position himself.”
― Xabi Alonso
“When the results are good, everything seems prettier; when things go bad, it seems like all conflicts, personal disputes, and problems arise.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Everything can change in the Champions League.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I have played at Liverpool, a special club, grown as a player and won titles.”
― Xabi Alonso
“When I was a Real Sociedad player, we lost on every occasion we visited Camp Nou. Maybe that is normal for a small team, but with Liverpool and Real Madrid, you expect more.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Guardiola has a lot of knowledge about the game and understands the psychology of the players. You can see all the things he is doing well.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Anything can happen in football.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Mesut is one of those unique players you see every once in a while. He has the gift of a perfect touch in tight spaces that makes him special.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Ronaldo can create and score goals.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Football is a lot to do with mental state.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I’m very satisfied to close my time as footballer.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I accept I am going to miss playing because it’s such an important part in my life. It’s going to be difficult to fill that gap. Life goes on.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I remember playing with my dad, and my kids will remember this as well.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Kroos is an excellent player.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I have been lucky enough to work with great coaches. My father was also a coach, and my position in central midfield requires tactical knowledge.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I have learned from all of my coaches, and I am sure I will learn a lot with Guardiola.”
― Xabi Alonso
“How many times have you seen me run into the box with the ball, dribbling past players? It’s uncommon because it’s not my game; it’s not my thing.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I don’t try to do things that might make me look stupid, because the risk is there.”
― Xabi Alonso
“At Liverpool, I used to read the match day programme, and you’d read an interview with a lad from the youth team. They’d ask age, heroes, strong points, etc. He’d reply, ‘Shooting and tackling.’ I can’t get into my head that football development would educate tackling as a quality, something to learn, to teach, a characteristic of your play.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I think Kimmich is a bit like Mascherano. They are similar type of players.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I will always be grateful to Liverpool. It is a very special club.”
― Xabi Alonso
“While I was at Madrid, for me, Cristiano was the best.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Cristiano has unique qualities, brings danger in one-on-one situations, and has the ability to score and find something different.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I prefer not to compare teams because it’s not fair at all.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Leaving Liverpool was the toughest decision I had to make in football because I was in an exemplary club, a proper football club, with a lovely and sharing stadium that meant a lot of things to me. The fans are the best in the world, no doubt about that, and I was comfortable there.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Each time I watch a Liverpool game, I feel something special, especially whenever it’s at Anfield, because it brings back great memories.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Madrid is a big city. It’s very dynamic and cosmopolitan.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I hardly ever get in the box.”
― Xabi Alonso
“You have to know your role and accept it, because that’s what is best for the team.”
― Xabi Alonso
“In England, those qualities of playing it simple, being in the right position, reading the game, knowing the right moment to make things happen around you are not appreciated. Making a tackle, a run into the box – the spectacular things are more appreciated.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I want to win the Champions League with Bayern.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I feel good; my family and I feel comfortable in Munich.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Losing is a part of this sport.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Anoeta is always a tough place to go: people get right behind their side.”
― Xabi Alonso
“If I have to yell at Cristiano Ronaldo, I yell.”
― Xabi Alonso
“It’s hard to imagine being an ex-player. It’s not easy to find a new passion.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I have improved with time by playing for elite teams in elite leagues and the Champions League and with the Spanish national team in World Cups and European Championships.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I have been progressing throughout my career, which is a very good sign.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I came from my hometown team, Real Sociedad, to the best team in England, to the best team in Spain, to the best team in Germany.”
― Xabi Alonso
“My idea was to stay in Madrid. Then, when I heard of Munich’s interest, I said, ‘Xabi, think what you want and where you will be happy.’”
― Xabi Alonso
“There have been many games where Xavi and I have played together, and I think we work well.”
― Xabi Alonso
“With Senna, I am not incompatible; I am not incompatible with anyone.”
― Xabi Alonso
“There were many good reasons to move to Bayern, and Pep Guardiola was definitely one of them.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Cristiano’s numbers are amazing, indisputable.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Of course Zidane has surprised me as a coach. I didn’t know how he would do.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I wanted to end my career still at the highest level, and Bayern is the highest level.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I’m incredibly proud and happy to play for FC Bayern and to be a part of this family.”
― Xabi Alonso
“So many times, football is really unfair.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I grew up a lot as a professional and as a person in Liverpool, and I have very strong links to the club and the city.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Being a manager is so different to being a footballer. It’s a very difficult job, but, of course, it’s very exciting as well.”
― Xabi Alonso
“My family have absolutely no problem about me playing for Real Madrid. They have become Real Madrid fans.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Everyone should know my quality and what I bring to the team.”
― Xabi Alonso
“It is a fact for any footballer – you can be really happy, but if the club don’t want you, you have to accept it.”
― Xabi Alonso
“You always want to feel important at wherever you are at.”
― Xabi Alonso
“There are not many better clubs to play football for than Liverpool.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Writing is not easy, but having an opinion is!”
― Xabi Alonso
“Writing is not my thing; playing football is my thing.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Growing doesn’t mean renouncing your history.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Passion? Of course it’s necessary, but it’s more important to have footballing foundations, certainly, when developing players.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Passion isn’t something you work on. It’s more important to construct a good team, to know how you are going to play, how to read the match. You have to truly understand the game.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I don’t think tackling is a quality. It is a recurso, something you have to resort to, not a characteristic of your game.”
― Xabi Alonso
“If you have control of the midfield, you have control of the game, and you have more chances to win.”
― Xabi Alonso
“My game is not to have one great action. My game is to be consistent throughout: to bring the ball in the best and quickest possible way for the best players to make the last action.”
― Xabi Alonso
“At the end, when you play, you want to win.”
― Xabi Alonso
“They value different things in every country. In England, it’s very physical. You tackle, you shoot. I love watching it. In Spain, it’s different. Pass the ball, move, find the space.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Munich is a very good city to live in. The life quality is superb.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Bayern is a big club and a big brand, but on a daily basis, it’s a family club. You get to know the physios, the kit man, the chefs. It’s also a club that’s very close to the supporters. That proximity to the fans makes it special. That was surprising. In Liverpool and Madrid, there’s more distance.”
― Xabi Alonso
“The grass, the sound of the ball, the jokes with my teammates – that’s what I will miss most. That is what fulfills you most on a daily basis.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I am still as slow as I was when I was 20.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I don’t think I will stop learning about football. There are certain parts we will never understand, like what happens in the brain of a player or makes a team fear.”
― Xabi Alonso
“To be fighting at European level, you need players who know how to play in the big games.”
― Xabi Alonso
“The Bundesliga is much quicker; it’s more physical than the Liga, which is more technical.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I’ve said a few times the Bundesliga is closer to the Premier League than the Liga.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Neuer is by far the best keeper I’ve played with and is also outstanding outfield.”
― Xabi Alonso
“The only thing I regret is not winning the Premier League with Liverpool. I’ll never know how that feels and experience the reaction of the city, as I did after Istanbul. It hurts because I know the people want the league title more than anything.”
― Xabi Alonso
“It is difficult to copy Real Madrid, as not every team has those players who can run with such explosion, like Ronaldo.”
― Xabi Alonso
“If you go out and play your own way, anything can happen. You might win.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Matches in England are special.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I still feel I have a special connection with Liverpool fans.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I stay in contact with friends I have in Liverpool. It’s not a normal club; it’s so special and very important to me.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I’ve been lucky, but I have earned that luck.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I would never have dreamed to have had such a nice career as this. I like football, and this is like a nice football journey.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I’ve played with great players and worked with great managers; I’ve learned a lot from all of them.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I have been lucky enough to be at great clubs, from my hometown club to Liverpool to Real Madrid to Bayern Munich.”
― Xabi Alonso
“That is probably the biggest issue about the English game. You need to be a great player and great at striking the ball, of course, but it’s also about your head and being able to understand the game, especially for a midfielder.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I don’t want to just play well; I want the players around me to play better, and that’s when I feel that I have done my job.”
― Xabi Alonso
“That’s one thing that I’ve always wanted: to make my own decisions and not to be pushed. That has happened in my career, and I wanted to leave football, not football to leave me. I wanted to enjoy it as much as I could and to leave it a little bit earlier than too late.”
― Xabi Alonso
“Managing Liverpool? Yes, for sure, I have dreamt of that, but first I have to prove myself and prepare.”
― Xabi Alonso
“If I decide somewhere along the way to take my chances as a manager, my link, my commitment, my passion with Liverpool is there.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I’ve still got Paul Scholes’ shirt at home, which I swapped with him once. When I was at Liverpool, he was one of the players I liked most.”
― Xabi Alonso
“I have played against, but not with, Zinedine Zidane and would liked to have played with him.”
― Xabi Alonso
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