Does Xabi Alonso have 'another gear' ?

[anfieldanfield]

Whilst watching the World Cup, one man impressed me more than any other.

No, not Zidane, Cannavaro or Klose, but Andrea Pirlo.

He was simply immense in everything he did, he has clearly perfected the art of performing that deep lying 'playmaker' role, spraying balls forward, both long and short from the back, mopping up defensively and even joining Italy's attacking surges, scoring at least once during the course of the tournament.

The question I pose therefore, is how far is Xabi from Pirlo's level ? Close ?

Xabi's good, very good in fact, maybe just a shade short of being labelled 'world class', but seeing as their styles are unquestionably comparable, can Xabi (currently 25?), step it up a gear and match Pirlo's form in the world Cup for us this season ?

I hope so, I really do.

[Sprouty]

Xabi (currently 25?)

24. The official site says : Date of Birth: 25/11/1981

[LFCman]

Lets not forget Pirlo was originally an attacking midfielder converted to a deep lying 'playmaker' as you say. So going forward with the ball Pirlo is better then Xabi is at it. But IMO defensively Xabi is better and in terms of passing ability is as good as Pirlo's.

The only thing he lacks is the ability to get forward. However with the likes of Sissoko and Gerrard in our side then that isn't as vital for Xabi.

[Rich]

I thought you were saying - does Xabi have another gear in terms of pace, and for me this is the one area that he doesn't excel at.

Given a choice between Xabi and Pirlo, I'd pick Xabi - but that doesn't mean I don't rate Pirlo, however, I do think Xabi provides more than Pirlo. Xabi is much better than Pirlo defensively, which is why Alonso and Sissoko are so good together.

I'd say that they are comparable in terms of passing ability, as they are both fabulous in that department. Although I think Alonso shades it in terms of vision, i.e. spotting and playing an improbable pass.

Pirlo has the edge of set-pieces, although again Xabi is good, and I think imporving in this area. He is hinded by Gerrard's (slightly) annoying domination on free-kicks.

[IanTheRed]

Whilst watching the World Cup, one man impressed me more than any other.

No, not Zidane, Cannavaro or Klose, but Andrea Pirlo.

He was simply immense in everything he did, he has clearly perfected the art of performing that deep lying 'playmaker' role, spraying balls forward, both long and short from the back, mopping up defensively and even joining Italy's attacking surges, scoring at least once during the course of the tournament.

The question I pose therefore, is how far is Xabi from Pirlo's level ? Close ?

Xabi's good, very good in fact, maybe just a shade short of being labelled 'world class', but seeing as their styles are unquestionably comparable, can Xabi (currently 25?), step it up a gear and match Pirlo's form in the world Cup for us this season ?

I hope so, I really do.

Good to see a few new posts and debates starting up, welcome Dave! Don

[dww]

While they are comparable in style/role I think that Pirlos more attacking moments are made possible for Italy by playing with Gattuso who is a very clever and tactically astute defensive player who will cover him. I think that Xabi is better suited to playing with players like Momo/Stevie who do the running and he is the one required to do the positional cover.

I would say the most impressive thing about Xabi is that he makes time for creative passes even in the fast paced premiership. Very few players can/have done this - the only other holding midfielder who is currently comparable in quality to Xabi in the PL is Makelelle and he always plays short safe passes to start attacks.

[Rich]

While they are comparable in style/role I think that Pirlos more attacking moments are made possible for Italy by playing with Gattuso who is a very clever and tactically astute defensive player who will cover him. I think that Xabi is better suited to playing with players like Momo/Stevie who do the running and he is the one required to do the positional cover.

I would say the most impressive thing about Xabi is that he makes time for creative passes even in the fast paced premiership. Very few players can/have done this - the only other holding midfielder who is currently comparable in quality to Xabi in the PL is Makelelle and he always plays short safe passes to start attacks.

Makelele is just about the ultimate Midfield destroyer - he is very, very average with the ball at his feet. Xabi doesn't break up play like him, however, as he reads the game very well, he puts himself in positions to prevent the opposition finding holes through our rear guard.

Xabi is also dangerous from 25-30 yards out (even 65 yards out... )

[dww]

I slightly disagree, Makellele has exceptional tight control and the ability to make time for himself on the ball. He is also a very intelligent passer, but this is partly because he does not have a great range of passing.

The intelligence of his passing is the reason why some teams have started "man-marking" him with a forward when they don't have th ball. Fulham have done this to good effect.

[LFCman]

Arsenal tried to do it with Pires.

I think Alonso's defensive game has improved though over the last 2 years. Momo's addition to the squad gives him extra protection too so I think he has helped.

All in all, Gerrard, Sissoko and Alonso provide us with fantastic central midfield options. The Mancs would kill for them 3.

[dww]

Agreed.

I thought I was the only person to remember the Pires experiment. People laughed at me in the pub last time I bought it up. I actually thought it went quite well and was surprised Arsene didn't use it more last year.

[samo]

I think Xabi is much better than Pirlo. Although I thought Pirlo had an OK world cup, he never impresses me at club level at all. In fact he very much reminds me of Jamie Redknapp. You know there's a good player in there somewhere, but somehow it never comes out for sustained periods.

As for Xabi, imo his greatest attribute is his ability to make the players around him play. He is wonderful at picking the right ball at the right time, enabling the team to alter the pace at which we play at. In world football at the moment I think he's quite unique. I can't think of anyone who compares to him. Although I do believe he can improve and become slightly more consistent.

[anfieldanfield]

I think Xabi is much better than Pirlo. Although I thought Pirlo had an OK world cup,

I find both these comments a little suprising, as i though Pirlo was outstanding in the world cup and is the best in the world in 'his' position.

[samo]

I find both these comments a little suprising, as i though Pirlo was outstanding in the world cup and is the best in the world in 'his' position.

he had a couple of flashes, but i never felt he was controlling games, which xabi managed for spain and you have to do being the play maker in a side. i know it's obviously different as italy won the competition, but imo pirlo really stood out and played well v ghana and i thought he had a decent game in the semi v germany. that aside i thought he was average and below most of the time.

but my view of pirlo goes beyond the world cup. for milan he's plain ordinary imo. there are times he looks like he has quality and vision, but then seems to spend most of his time kinda ploding and never quite getting out of 1st gear. your description of him puts him in a class that would include the likes of zidane, ronaldo, ronaldinho in recent years and i personally don't think he's anywhere near that. let's put it this way, if someone told me we'd be in for pirlo because xabi was off to madrid, i'd be gutted.