Cue hackneyed Steven Gerrard jokes.
Xabi Alonso might just be the coolest footballer on Earth at the moment. Everything the man seems to do both on and off the pitch just exudes effortlessness and class.
Even when Xabi makes a blunder, he still manages to turn it into a thing of beauty. A prime example of this happened during Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga clash against Hannover 96.
After going a goal down three minutes earlier, Alonso was presented with a free kick on the edge of the opposition penalty area. It looked like it was just about the right range for one of the Spaniard’s trademark free-kick golazos.
However, disaster struck just as Alonso struck the ball. He lost his footing just as his magical right boot connected with the football and he fell flat on his arse. Despite the embarrassing slip, Alonso’s effort left the goalkeeper flat-footed and went crashing into the back of the net.