Xabi Alonso

Lore & Background

Alonso began his career at Real Sociedad, the main team of his home province Gipuzkoa. After a brief loan period at Eibar, he was appointed as captain of Real Sociedad and finished as runners-up in La Liga in the 2002–03 season. He moved to Liverpool in 2004 for £10.5 million and won the UEFA Champions League in his first season, scoring in the final. He later won the UEFA Super Cup, the FA Cup and the FA Community Shield. Alonso moved to Real Madrid in 2009 in a deal worth £30 million and won La Liga, two Copa del Rey titles, and another UEFA Champions League. He joined German club Bayern Munich in 2014 and won three Bundesliga titles, including a domestic double in his second season, and retired in 2017. He made his international debut for Spain in April 2003 and went on to win the European Championship twice in 2008 and 2012, as well as the 2010 World Cup. He also represented Spain at Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup. On 23 June 2012, Alonso won his 100th cap for Spain in the quarter-final of Euro 2012 against France, where he scored both goals in a 2–0 victory. Alonso retired from international football after the 2014 World Cup. His 114 appearances make him the eighth-most capped player in Spain's history. Alonso coached Real Madrid's U14 team before being appointed as manager of Real Sociedad B in 2019, where he won promotion to the Segunda División in his second season. Alonso was named head coach of Bayer Leverkusen in 2022 and completed an unprecedented unbeaten domestic double in 2024, winning the club's first ever Bundesliga title and first DFB-Pokal since 1993. After two-and-a-half years with the German side, Alonso was appointed as the new head coach of his former club Real Madrid in June 2025, but he left the club seven months later by mutual consent. Four months after leaving Real Madrid, Alonso agreed to take over as manager of Chelsea starting in July 2026.

In Their Own Story

The floodlights at Anfield hummed with a low, electric buzz, the kind that settled into your teeth before kickoff. It was a Tuesday in February, and the away team had parked five men behind the ball, a wall of red shirts and folded arms. The crowd was restless, that particular Liverpool impatience that demands a goal, a tackle, something to shout about.

Alonso received the ball thirty yards from goal, back to play, two defenders breathing on his neck. He did not turn. He did not run. He simply shifted his weight, let the first defender commit, and slipped a pass through a gap no wider than a shirt sleeve. The ball arrived at the feet of the winger before the defender's boot had even left the grass. The winger cut inside, shot, saved. The crowd roared not for the save but for the pass — for the three seconds of stillness in which a match had been rewritten.

Alonso was already walking back into position, hands on hips, expression unreadable. To him, it was nothing. To the rest of the world, it was the whole game.

Reader's Guide

Alonso was born in the small town of Tolosa, Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, into a family known for its footballing prowess. His father, Periko Alonso, won La Liga twice in successive seasons with Real Sociedad and a third time after he joined Barcelona. He also featured in the national team, winning 21 caps over the course of his career. Alonso lived in the city of Barcelona for the first six years of his life and moved to San Sebastián thereafter. It was here that his passion for football began as he whiled away his childhood playing at Playa de la Concha. On the Basque sands, Alonso befriended a fellow resident of Calle Matia, Mikel Arteta, and the two would battle each other in exhibitions of technical ability. He was immersed in football and his father would often bring him and his older brother, Mikel, to Sabadell's training ground to practise together. Alonso was influenced by his father's playing, taking more pleasure in passing the ball well than shooting at goal. At an early age, he decided to play as a defensive midfielder, a role which helped him learn how to distribute the ball well. Alonso and Arteta were ambitious and dreamed of playing alongside each other for Real Sociedad when they were older. Though they attended different schools, the two young players joined forces at the local youth side Antiguoko, playing games at the weekend. Their performances attracted the attention of scouts from top Spanish sides and the young Donostiarras separated ways, ending nine years of friendly rivalry, as Alonso went to Real Sociedad and Arteta moved to Catalan giant Barcelona. Alonso's move to Real Sociedad, however, was not a companionless one, as his older brother Mikel, who had also become an adept player, joined the club together with him. Alonso quickly progressed through the youth ranks and the reserve team at Real Sociedad (winning the regionalised fourth tier in his single season with the latter) and impressed enough to earn a first-team debut at the age of 18. He made his first senior appearance against Logroñés on 1 December 1999 in a Copa del Rey match. Alonso failed to make another appearance in the season but the following year brought more opportunities. At the beginning of the 2000–01 season, Javier Clemente sent him to Segunda División club Eibar to gain experience. Alonso's father particularly felt the move to the smaller club improved him as

Did You Know?

• Alonso scored both goals in a 2–0 victory against France on 23 June 2012, his 100th cap for Spain.
• Alonso won the UEFA Champions League with Liverpool in 2005 and with Real Madrid in 2014.
• Alonso's father Periko won La Liga twice with Real Sociedad and once with Barcelona.