Xabi Alonso

Xabier Alonso Olano, commonly known as Xabi Alonso - pronounced Chabi Alonso - (born 25 November 1981), is a Spanish Basque footballer who plays his club football at Liverpool F.C. in England. He wears the number 14 shirt at Liverpool and is a midfielder.

He was transferred to Liverpool from Real Sociedad by their recently-installed manager Rafael Benitez, for a fee of £10.5m. Prior to Real Sociedad, he played for SD Eibar. Alonso is considered by many to be one of the young "hot-shots" of Spanish football and a considerable talent and played for his country at Template:Ec2.

Xabi Alonso made his Premiership debut for Liverpool against Bolton Wanderers at The Reebok Stadium on 29 August 2004, a game that Liverpool lost 1-0. His first goal for Liverpool came from a free-kick against Fulham on 16 October 2004. Liverpool were losing 2-0 at half-time, but Alonso's arrival as a substitute inspired a revival and an eventual 4-2 win. Although a newcomer to the English league, Alonso has impressed with his exceptional range of passing and vision. He has become a permanant fixture of Benitez's sides and has endeared many fans with his long range passing ability.

After breaking his ankle following a tackle from Frank Lampard in Liverpool's 1-0 defeat to Chelsea on New Year's Day 2005, Alonso was ruled out of action for over 3 months. He made his return earlier than expected in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Juventus. In the absence of skipper Steven Gerrard through suspension Alonso played for all 90 minutes as Liverpool gained an improbable 0-0 draw in Italy to defeat the eventual Italian Champions on aggregate. Gerrard would later repay the favour to Alonso in the very next round - when Alonso was himself suspended from the second leg of the semi-final against Chelsea, Gerrard steered Liverpool to a 1-0 win with the help of a controversial Luis García goal, putting Liverpool in the Final against Milan.

In the Champions League Final, Alonso played a crucial role as Liverpool completed an incredible comeback from 3-0 down at half-time to 3-3. At 3-2, Liverpool were awarded a penalty, which Alonso stepped up to take. While Dida, Milan's Brazilian goalkeeper, managed to save the penalty, Alonso fired the rebound into the roof of the net, making it 3-3. Liverpool went on to win the European Cup on penalties, capping a successful first year for Xabi Alonso in England.

Honours

• 2004/05 UEFA Champions League
• 2005/06 European Super Cup