A glimpse into the life of Xabi Alonso, from the woman who tried to attract teammate to modeling shoots
XABI ALONSO is the talk of the town in Germany and Liverpool.
The Bayer Leverkusen manager has the club seven points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.
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This has put them firmly on course to win their first Bundesliga title in their 120-year history.
Alonso has built a strong reputation in coaching for his innovative and attractive brand of football.
Whether he is the man to replace the outgoing Jurgen Klopp at Anfield remains to be seen as there are a number of other candidates to consider.
But what about the man off the field and the tactics board?
Star-crossed lovers
Alonso is married to Nagore Aranburu.
The couple married in 2009, a month before Alonso left Liverpool for Real Madrid.
They met when Alonso was still a teenager and playing for boyhood club Real Sociedad.
Alonso and Nagore have three children together: Jontxe born in 2008, Ane, born in 2010 and Emma, born in 2013.
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Nagore has worked as a model, actress and fashion designer.
But a hilarious story came when she was working as a hotel receptionist in Liverpool.
Ex-Reds chief executive and Alonso teammate Peter Crouch recalled the first time he met Nagore.
Crouch confessed his love at first sight in response to meeting Nagore, before Liverpool teammates including Jamie Carragher broke the win news told him she was with Alonso.
He said: “When I signed for Liverpool I stayed at the Hope Street Hotel.
“At the reception there was a girl who looked so pretty that I couldn't believe she was smiling at me the whole time.
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“I said to the guys in training, 'Honestly, she's beautiful, I think I have something to hear here.' Jamie Carragher shouted a few other older players, “tell them again, Crouchie.”
“So I did, 'Amazing. Dark haired. Spanish looking. I'm in there.' It turned out that she was Xabi Alonso's partner.
'She was doing some work to practice her language skills. He did Nice about the. So was she. Carra less so.”
Despite their busy lifestyles, Alonso and Nagore have always made time to spend together.
At Bayern Munich, Alonso and Nagore were regularly seen during the Oktoberfest celebrations.
After Alonso retired from football in 2017, the pair were spotted walking on the beach during a family holiday to California.
Alonso also revealed that the couple enjoys going to the museum and going for a mountain ride with the family.
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Petrolhead and modeling
Perhaps it's an echo of his sleek playing style, but when Alonso is depicted in a car, it is one of elegant design.
And his fashion sense goes in the same direction.
Alonso likes to get behind the wheel of classic projectors, as can be seen in a number of Instagram posts the driving a variety of classic cars.
During his time in Munich, Alonso modeled for Porsche and Adidas when they launched the series Porsche Design Sport SS17 and sportswear range.
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However, when he went to training, he drove a rather nondescript Audi, instead of his classic Mercedes 190 SL convertible.
Cost estimates for that car today put it at between £70,000 and £166,000.
In an interview with Mr PorterAlonso – who has been compared to James Bond – is seen the driving a Porsche 356 and doesn't look a bit out of place.
One thing Alonso can't stand is the idea of tattoos on his body.
In a 2016 interview with South German ZeitungAlonso said: “They [friends] know that they have no chance with me.
'By the way, I'm not against it tattoos In principle. This may very well look cool to others.
“But not for me. I just can't imagine myself with piercings, chains or anything. I'm obviously hopelessly old-fashioned.”
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Alonso is also fed up with the idea that footballers have bad taste in music and TV shows. He says: “It is the eternal cliché that footballers have no taste.
“I think that's quite unfair. But I already know that, I've gotten used to it.”
He has previously raved about hit shows such as True Detective and Fargo, describing them as “masterpieces”, while also revealing bands he had been listening to.
The Shins, The Flaming Lips, The Delgados, The Velvet Underground and Lou Reed to name a few.
Special moments are like watch links
Despite his often friendly appearance, Alonso is not someone who often dresses to impress.
But when he does, he goes all out, and watches are the crown jewel of his wardrobe.
Alonso has compared special moments in his life and career to links in a watch.
He told The Journal: “For me, every special moment is linked to a particular watch, and every time I put it on I am taken back to that moment – like when we won the Champions League with Liverpool or the World Cup. Cup with Spain.”
Jurgen Klopp's successor?
By Dan King
XABI ALONSO ticks almost all the boxes to succeed Jürgen Klopp as Liverpool manager and if Bayer Leverkusen doesn't let his lead at the top of the Bundesliga slip, the case will be irresistible for him.
The former Kop idol knows the club inside and out after five seasons at Anfield and has made no secret of his enduring affection.
Alonso has already built a reputation as an innovative coach who plays an attractive, pressing style, usually in a fluid 3-4-2-1 formation.
He has taken Leverkusen from second place in the Bundesliga to seven points clear at the top, putting them on course to be crowned German champions for the first time in their 120-year history.
It's worth remembering that both Rafa Benitez and Klopp arrived at Anfield with proof that they could dethrone clubs that dominated their leagues.
If Alonso were to do the same, in his second season as top manager, he would be labeled as something special.
It's that lack of long-term experience that still makes appointing him as Klopp's replacement a gamble.
But otherwise he seems the perfect candidate as Liverpool are forced to plan a future without the man who made them champions of England, Europe and the world.
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Watches his collection includes Rolex, Patek Philippe, Franck Muller, Audemars Piguet and Panerai – not that he has any particular desire to show off such accessories for fear of appearing vulgar.
However, his favorite and most special member of his watch collection was a gift from Nagora on their wedding day – an IWC Ingenieur – worth £10,500, according to Watches of Switzerland.
For Alonso, the beautiful watch represents “the fact that I found a woman who thought about me, what I like and my personality.”
“I don't wear it much, only on very special occasions.”
Alonso says he likes IWC watches in general because “they are not overly flashy, flashy watches” and “have a certain sophistication without being ostentatious.”
An old saying goes, “You can tell a lot about a man by the shoes he wears and the watch he wears.”
And it seems that for Alonso, simple but beautiful efficiency runs through everything he does.