Credit to Alonso's vigour.
September 20th 2008 08:49
Xabi Alonso's Liverpool future was anything but certain during the Gareth Barry transfer saga.
Liverpool's pursuit of Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry in the summer transfer window was a saga which hoarded most news surrounding the club at the time. It was a saga which unfortunately affected not just one player but two.
Rafa's interest in Barry was initiated by a combination of the UEFA 6 plus 5 rule, and Liverpool's need to strengthen their left side with a naturally left footed player who had Premier League experience, but it was also due to midfield maestro Xabi Alonso's loss in form during the 07-08 season.
Xabi Alonso had always been Rafa Benitez's golden child and a player who seemed immune to the rotation policy the media had made his manager famous for. But since the signing of Javier Mascherano, Alonso was forced to viciously compete for his place in the Liverpool squad and he struggled to get the better of his new teammate.
Benitez was prepared to sell the player if a big offer (£20 million region) came in from another club. A value which can be justified. Alonso after all has a European Championship medal he just won with Spain and he'd already written himself in Liverpool's history books with Champions League and FA cup medals, not to mention his memorable goals. The penalty in the 2005 Champion League final and the two from inside his own half against Newcastle and Luton respectively will be remembered for a long time yet.
Alonso scores against AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final after Dida saved his penalty attempt.
Juventus were interested in Alonso after signing his former teammate Mohammed Sissoko but the word was that though Alonso would appreciate a move to the big Italian club he still preferred to stay at Liverpool. Perhaps the slow movement of Gareth Barry's transfer was increasing his chances of staying each day but emotionally it would have been tough knowing until that transfer window shut he would still have to anxiously await which club he'd be playing his football at in the new season. Especially when Gareth Barry made his wishes public and Aston Villa posted this statement on their website
"Gareth Barry has stated in discussions with our manager he would like to leave Aston Villa to join Liverpool. But Liverpool's bid for the player has been rejected. They have been informed of Villa's continued position in this matter."
Nevertheless Alonso performed incredibly in pre season and was voted Liverpool's best player in pre season overall in an online poll by Liverpool fans on the Liverpool football club website. The situation came to an end when Liverpool's American owners refused to sanction the transfer of Barry (Failing to fulfill yet another of their promises) and Rafa subsequently switched his attention to capturing the signature of winger Albert Riera.
After such a tumultuous period though Xabi Alonso has continued his strong performances from pre season with Liverpool into the Premier League. Namely his performance against Manchester United at Anfield where he was outplayed for the first twenty minutes but together with teammate Mascherano rallied together and gained control of the midfield allowing Liverpool to play their attacking game. His whipped cross shot with a little bit of luck (o.k maybe more but you make that) did lead to Van Der Sar's error and Liverpool's first goal.
If he continues in this fashion then Rafa could be turning down bids of the £20 million he was looking to secure in the summer for one of the first players he made a commitment of signing for Liverpool. And though Alonso might not ever be as immune to Rafa's rotation policy as he used to, a credit to the strength in depth and competition Benitez has created at Liverpool, he's certainly shown he has the vigour to deal with it now.
Xabi Alonso's memorable goal from inside his own half versus Newcastle in the EPL.
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