Real Madrid have arguably the deepest and most talented squad in world football – but Xabi Alonso has just demonstrated that he could still walk into their midfield.
Alonso enjoyed a superlative playing career at Liverpool, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and the Spain national team.
A midfielder with a featherlight touch and passing through angles previously unimaginable by the world’s finest mathematicians, Alonso won enough silverware to fill Buckingham Palace.
While age waits for no man, causing him to announce his retirement in 2015, the Real Madrid manager has proven that class remains permanent.
A clip released by the club’s social media team shows Alonso taking training and instantly putting his young midfielders in their place with the filthiest first touch.
As the ball fell from the sky, travelling at such speed to suggest it had journeyed by cannon from nearby Segovia, the 43-year-old locked eyes with his target and muttered ancient spells under his breath.
What other explanation can there be? Whereas you or I would flinch and move our foot away, Alonso cushioned the ball with the minimum of fuss and killed its trajectory stone dead.
You half suspect that one or two members of the Madrid squad would’ve seen the ball bounce away sheepishly.
But their boss matched its velocity on the way down, barely raising his foot off the ground but curving his toe just enough to control the ball.
The technique is absolutely insane. Wizardry. And shows how the muscle memory ingrained in Alonso during his playing career hasn’t gone anywhere.
And the ultra-pleased-with-himself look on his face said it all. Quite rightly.
Le dio de cenar. La acostó. Y la puso a dormir. pic.twitter.com/AUXJRjHC00
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) October 6, 2025
Madrid go into October’s international break top of La Liga following Saturday’s victory over Villarreal.
Los Blancos bounced back from their humbling derby defeat to Atletico Madrid with a 3-1 victory as previous leaders Barcelona were thrashed 4-1 by Sevilla.
“We feel really good,” Alonso said afterwards. “That was a really serious performance, and an important win.
“Our gameplan tonight was the same as always. Dominate the game through possession, and when we lose the ball, press fast and high and win it back aggressively. I think we did a good job.
“We had to work hard for the game. In the first half, we lacked a bit of speed in our circulation, although when we arrived, we created opportunities.
“A serious and important victory all around. Now we move on.”
Whatever the 2025-26 campaign has in store for Real Madrid, their manager has already tasted the glory of rolling back the years and defying Father Time with the most cushioned of first touches.
And, despite the riches and life experiences that separate the Madrid manager from the rest of us, the glee on his face following this sorcery was Alonso’s most relatable moment in years.
By Michael Lee
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