Player Focus: How Big A Loss Is Xabi Alonso To Real Madrid?

There is nothing more aesthetically pleasing than a glorious beard in the footballing world. Andrea Pirlo has won himself a legion of admirers as a result of his outstanding facial hair, while Daniele De Rossi’s gladiatorial effort must not go unnoticed. Then, there is Xabi Alonso and his attempt to usurp the pairing as the finest in the game.

The Real Madrid midfielder is idolised in football, be it through his physical appearance or his ability to control the game from the middle of the park. Renowned for his vision and passing range, it was little shock to see Los Blancos part with £30m in 2009 to secure the services of Alonso on the back of his starring role in Liverpool's 2nd placed Premier League finish.

Over his last four seasons with Real, the Spain international has made 120 La Liga starts, picked up Primera Division, Copa Del Rey and Supercopa de España winners medals and been voted the best midfielder in the league in 2012. So, when news began to spread this week that Alonso had sustained a fractured metatarsal in training, ruling him out for a suspected 3 months, fans were understandably rocked.

For the Spanish capital side, the midfielder garnered an average WhoScored rating of 7.29 last season - only Cristiano Ronaldo (8.18), Fabio Coentrão (7.43), Sergio Ramos (7.43) and Mesut Özil (7.41) scored higher than Alonso of their first-team regulars. Averaging 1.8 key passes per game - only Özil (2.9) completed more - accentuates his ability as one of the most complete central midfielders in the game at present.

Yet, at 31 years of age, there are many believing his best years are behind him and his 3-month layoff could be the beginning of the end of his Real career. Recently appointed head coach Carlo Ancelotti has looked to mould the squad his own way, and with the arrival of Asier Illarramendi coupled with the permanent signing of Casemiro; Alonso’s first-team action might even be limited over the coming season.

That isn’t to say Alonso wasn’t a fantastic signing for the club back in 2009. The Spaniard was crucial in seeing Real wrestle the Primera Division title away from Barcelona in 2012, with his average rating of 7.47 that season his highest since joining. That campaign saw him execute the most accurate long balls (336) and play the most forward passes (1042) in the league, highlighting his preference for an expansive rather than simple pass.

Moreover, his 88.1% pass success the same season was his highest since moving to Madrid. Last season’s 83% was his lowest, as his first team action was limited to just 2147 minutes - again, his lowest - across 28 appearances, with 6 as a substitute. His lack of impact was evidenced for Real last season as the club, during José Mourinho’s final season in charge, won 59.1% of the 22 games Alonso started compared to 81.3% in the 16 he didn’t.

During his final tumultuous year in Madrid, Mourinho famously dropped goalkeeper Iker Casillas, while publicly criticising influential first-teamers Pepe, Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo. The now-Chelsea boss was lambasted for leaving Alonso out of the starting XI with some regularity, but with the team scoring 3 goals per game without him compared to 2.5 with him, Mourinho’s decision to bench Alonso might even have been the correct one.

The average rating he accrued last season (7.29) was his lowest since joining from Liverpool, possibly hinting at the start of a decline in the Spaniard. With Illarramendi costing €38.9m, many have tipped the former Real Sociedad ace to be the long-term replacement for Alonso. The youngster may have missed the 2-1 win over Real Betis at the weekend, but his implementation into the starting XI is expected to be swift following his compatriot’s injury.

Illarramendi's average of 50.2 passes per game may have been fewer than Alonso’s 65.7 last season, while Illarramendi’s pass success of 80.7% was marginally worse than that of the 31-year-old (83%), but with Sociedad averaging less possession than Real (55.7%) last term,the onus may well have been on the former shifting the ball forward quicker rather than keeping the ball and thus boosting his pass success rate.

For Spain during the recent U21 European Championship, for example, Illarramendi ended the competition with a pass success of 95.1%, misplacing just 20 passes in his 5 appearances. With the quality of personnel at Real, his number of passes per game and success will be expected to rise and potentially even surpass those of Alonso.

Averaging 3.8 tackles and 2.4 interceptions per game was better than that of Alonso - 2.9 and 1.6, respectively - last season, further denoting that Illarramendi would be a more than suitable replacement for his compatriot. And with the 23-year-old now handed the opportunity to stake his claim for a regular first-team place in the absence of Alonso, the injury to the bearded midfielder could not have come at a worse time, for Alonso, anyway.