As Liverpool battled Aston Villa to try and prise away
skipper Gareth Barry by any means necessary, Xabi Alonso was left
to feel very much like Robinho was by Real Madrid as they chased
Cristiano Ronaldo all summer long.
Los Blancos' neglect of their own has cost them dearly.
The Brazilian left the Spanish champions and is now realising his
full potential in a more prominent role in a Manchester City side
that will have unlimited resources with which to strengthen the
squad to launch an assault on the Champions League qualification
spots and announce themselves on the world stage.
Liverpool got a little luckier. Xabi Alonso was certainly eager to
leave and on several occasions, albeit subtly, talked up the
interest from Italian giants Juventus. However, as the Reds failed
in their bid to buy Barry, Xabi showed a little more faith than
Robinho did at Madrid and, instead of forcing his way out to make a
point, stuck with the club and has since had a promising return to
form this season.
A much more at-ease Alonso spoke exclusively to Setanta
Sports and revealed he had yet more good news for Reds fans.
"At some stage my future was not clear, I was wondering what was
going to happen because there were propositions, but I prefer to
move on," he said.
"Of course the fans’ backing was a massive boost because they let
me know they wanted me to stay. "Of course I can see myself here
for more years to come. "I have a lot of very good examples to
follow – I am very close friends with Sami Hyypia, he is a
foreigner having a great career at Liverpool, and Didi Haman became
important as a Liverpool player as well."
The Euro 2008 winner underlined his belief in this current squad
and their ability to win Liverpool's first league title in almost
two decades. "The team is in a good shape, is being consistent,
which is what we wanted, but we have a lot of things to do still,"
he continued.
Is this Liverpool's best chance at league glory since Alonso has
been at the club? "Yes absolutely," was his defiant answer. "We
have never been closer to the top at this stage of the season, this
is probably the best Premier League start I’ve ever had at
Liverpool, but you have to be conscious and think about West
Ham."
Alonso signed for Liverpool from Real Sociedad in 2004, as one of
Rafa Benitez's first new recruits upon his appointment as Reds
manager.