Thiago or Xabi Alonso

[Mark79]

Hey I'm a Thiago fan boy, spent a chunk of last season defending him against Dastardly Dan Perkins , but think Xabi simply has more minutes and games playing at a very high personal level (more than 300 games more for club and country) than Thiago has playing at his own best level and am using that to split them.


Stylistically they are difficult to compare in some ways as they are/were at their best in different roles. Both elite players with off the chart abilities imo.

Love Xabi, but he did have an indifferent, below par couple of seasons in the middle of his Liverpool career.

Has Thiago ever had such a prolonged period like that where he’s not been at his best?

[Doc_Piptorious]

Love Xabi, but he did have an indifferent, below par couple of seasons in the middle of his Liverpool career.

Has Thiago ever had such a prolonged period like that where he’s not been at his best?

I don't fully buy that tbh. He and the team as a whole played below the standards they had been setting for spells, but even a sub par Alonso (by the standards he set) was still at the very least as good as the best of the rest in the league at the time when it came to his stye of play.


Not sure if Thiago has had big lulls in form, but he certainly was kept out of the team by others at Barca earlier on in is career and not being able to break into the first team there played a very big part in him leaving Barca.

Course I could make the arguement that had Thiago played as many games as Alonso we might have seen lulls or if Thiago had ever played in a team that was less than the best in the league we might have seen dips. All ifs and buts I know.

Says a lot though that nobody is really trying to make a case for one over the other based on pure ability or game smarts. We are all trying to split them on things other than playing ability.

[Doc_Piptorious]

Can't decide... Xabi was instrumental for us over a long period in the best midfield in the world, Thiago probably does edge it as the better player BUT he needs to be special for us over a longer period imo.

It's akin to asking who's better, Firmino or Morientes/Litmanen - most outsiders would probably say one of the latter whereas we'd all say Firmino cos he's done it consistently.

That is actually quite a difficult one.

Bobby has at times been brilliant for us, but mostly under Klopp but has had some very serious dips in form too.


Morientes was excellent for a longer span of his career but a lot of us would probably remember his time with us and after that.


Litmanen was possibly the most technically gifted of the three but injuries ruined his career, but at the same time during his first spell with Ajax he excelled domestically and at Champions league level and won the Champions league with Ajax, no mean feat even with the players they had then.


Might actually lean towards Morientes of the three based on what he did in the game and for how long he maintained a high level, but Bobby has time to put in another season or two of performances to change that opinion.

[Pablo]

Another interesting question is would Xabi have worked under Klopp? I'm not sure he would as he can't press? I get Thiago isn't the quickest, but he is a very effective presser. I think he's underrated in that regard.

[Doc_Piptorious]

Another interesting question is would Xabi have worked under Klopp? I'm not sure he would as he can't press? I get Thiago isn't the quickest, but he is a very effective presser. I think he's underrated in that regard.

Look at the list of managers that Xabi did excel under though. Is not as though you do not have to work hard or not press in a Rafa team or a Pep team. Same with his time at Real under Mourinho and Ancelotti

[Corndog]

Xabi by a mile for me and I think thats what spanish fans would say as well.

I've not seen a better passer than xabi alonso play the game. He could play first time balls off his left foot 40-50 yards to a tee.

His movement and anticipation was also insane, constantly in space despite not being quick. Rarely closed down.

Thiago is a better dribbler though and I think earlier in his career had a bit more pace.

I have seen alonso play more though so perhaps am biased.

Can;t remember how much they overlapped for country but I don't remember a young thiago, then at barca starting much in spains golden team. Pretty impossible task when it was normally xavi, xabi and iniesta

[Buzzo]

Career wise Thiago.

LFC wise Alonso until Thiago is stood in an LFC kit with a big shiny trophy held above his head. Last season was the first time that hasnt happened in his career.

[Mark79]

I don't fully buy that tbh. He and the team as a whole played below the standards they had been setting for spells, but even a sub par Alonso (by the standards he set) was still at the very least as good as the best of the rest in the league at the time when it came to his stye of play.


Not sure if Thiago has had big lulls in form, but he certainly was kept out of the team by others at Barca earlier on in is career and not being able to break into the first team there played a very big part in him leaving Barca.

Course I could make the arguement that had Thiago played as many games as Alonso we might have seen lulls or if Thiago had ever played in a team that was less than the best in the league we might have seen dips. All ifs and buts I know.

Says a lot though that nobody is really trying to make a case for one over the other based on pure ability or game smarts. We are all trying to split them on things other than playing ability.

Yeah but we’re comparing Xabi and Thiago. Not Xabi and the pretty varied standard of PL midfielders in the mid-late 2000s!

Thiago had the the likes of Xavi and Iniesta ahead of him, no wonder he didn’t feature much when he was 17/18! Alonso was around same age by the time he started playing regularly for Sociedad as Thiago was for Barca.

He’d certainly broken into the 1st team for at least 2 seasons before he left Barca, and featured regularly but the starts weren’t as often as he would have liked simply because of Busquets, Xavi and Iniesta.

Barca didn’t want to lose him, and he left because Guardiola made him a priorty for his Bayern team.

[Doc_Piptorious]

Yeah but we’re comparing Xabi and Thiago. Not Xabi and the pretty varied standard of PL midfielders in the mid-late 2000s!

Thiago had the the likes of Xavi and Iniesta ahead of him, no wonder he didn’t feature much when he was 17/18! Alonso was around same age by the time he started playing regularly for Sociedad as Thiago was for Barca.

He’d certainly broken into the 1st team for at least 2 seasons before he left Barca, and featured regularly but the starts weren’t as often as he would have liked simply because of Busquets, Xavi and Iniesta.

Barca didn’t want to lose him, and he left because Guardiola made him a priorty for his Bayern team.

Meida reports online show that he left as he activated a release clause that allowed him to leave for a cut price if he was not getting enough game time.

[Mark79]

Meida reports online show that he left as he activated a release clause that allowed him to leave for a cut price if he was not getting enough game time.

That’s right, Bayern took advantage of the clause that Pep obviously knew about, but that doesn’t mean the rest isn’t also the case.

[Doc_Piptorious]

That’s right, Bayern took advantage of the clause that Pep obviously knew about, but that doesn’t mean the rest isn’t also the case.

Ah it does because I like orange juice and the weather is ok today

[rudedog]

Thiago is the better footballer than Xabi but I love them both.

Imagine a midfield three of them and Stevie G

[Buzzo]

Thiago is the better footballer than Xabi but I love them both.

Imagine a midfield three of them and Stevie G

Stevie would be doing a lot of running!

[Exiled_red]

I'd have to go with Alonso as Thiago has only been here just over a season and missed alot of football through injury, whereas Alonso was consistent in his performances for us for a while in a team that struggled in comparison to this one. In a few years I might feel differently, but for now Alonso is ahead for me.

[memzey]

Alonso for me. It’s easy to forget just how good he was. Awesome player.