Basque to Beyond – Could Xabi Alonso Be Football’s New Renaissance Man?

Debkalpa Banerjee

28th April 2017 | 9:30 AM

A paen to the one, the only Xabi Alonso and what lies ahead for the suave gent.

April 18, 2017. It’s a quarter past ten over at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid. 75 minutes into a high octane Champions League quarterfinal match, Don Carlo brings on Thomas Muller. His job is simple. Provide an added surge to get the Bavarians a crucial second goal. Instead, a minute later, the Portuguese powerhouse of Los Meringues makes the six inch difference in height between him and Phillip Lahm count; a header on target, out of Neuer’s big outstretched hand. Then follows a seven minute period of jubilation and more heartbreak for the Bavarians, with the Real Madrid captain first putting the ball in his own net keeping Keylor Navas confused as to which way to go, to an undeserved red card for Arturo Vidal, the first of many controversial decisions of the night. Half an hour and some more dodgy refereeing decisions later, Bayern Munich are kicked out of Europe by Real Madrid by an aggregate of 6-3. An event that leaves the footballing world going hard on their smartphones, voicing opinions in less than 140 characters.

Gerard Pique
Gerard Pique was opinionated in less than 4 characters, for which he had to receive fire from players like Papa Souaré, and most recently Sergio Ramos. Not even surprised.

When all the dust has cleared after the conclusion of a tie of such big proportions — two giants facing off, and the French padawan welcoming the Italian master back in Madrid, there is a man still soaking it all in, sitting in an unfamiliar locker room inside a familiar stadium taking some time for himself.

Xabi Alonso.

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