I did a piece on Baggio and how important players of his caliber are in a team. There are also those other ENGINE type players like Yaya who comes to my head first that are VITAL. They are the SPINE of the team and are the foundation that keeps the building upright. I don't care how old Xabi is, this guy is a VERY important player and Spain ain't winning JACK without him and if Madrid are to have any chance of winning the Champions League...they need this guy on the pitch.
Alonso gives you great passing. The Spanish dude can pick out a pass from anywhere. Short pass, long pass, switching the flanks...he can do it, and do it very well. But it is this guy's willingness to not only go in for difficult tackles, but to WIN them and show the referee how he won the ball CLEANLY, without breaking the player's legs. He is what I want in a midfielder. Someone who can consolidate and hold the midfield together. Also, he has a VERY good shot on him which means when he finds himself in space with just the keeper staring at him, he can put away the shot cleanly...no problem whatsoever. It's the qualities of his extremely precise and accurate passing and his ability to win the ball back, and workrate that make him AN ESSENTIAL player in any team.
Spain NEED him, as do Madrid. As I watched Brazil bend Spain over and do the illegal with them..without any lube, there was one component missing for ESPAYNE. Gustavo and Paulinho were aloud to have a field day in midfield with Oscar and Neymar doing their thing in attack. IF, Alonso was on that pitch, not saying the Spanish would have won...still would have gotten a beatdown, but the scoreline would have been different and they would not have been as completely and totally outplayed as they were. Xabi Alonso is probably THE most important figure for ESPAYNE at this World Cup. Without him.....I will eat my own ass if the red and yellow peeps manage to win.
HH
