Xabi Alonso

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credit to Pierrot

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[Chic_Raul_ista]

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[FernandaCarolina]

He was on Liverpool's game today with Nagore

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the only pic I found with no watermarks

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WC ball presentation

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[GraceGibson]

Awww, he seems to be having fun with the guys and the trompets LOL Nice pics!

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[FernandaCarolina]

Awww, he seems to be having fun with the guys and the trompets LOL Nice pics!

Just in the pictures, he really doesn't like 'vuvuzelas'

Xabi Alonso wants a World Cup ban on horns popular with quite a number of South Africa fans.

Alonso, with Spain for the Confederations Cup which is being used as a dry run for next year's finals here in South Africa, said: "They make a terrible noise and it's not a good idea to have them on sale outside the grounds. Here's a piece of advice for FIFA - try to ban them."

The metre-long plastic vuvuzela horns have been blaring non-stop during Confederations Cup games in South Africa.

The "instrument" is a hot topic of discussion amongst many South Africans at the moment.

The ancestor of the vuvuzela is said to be the kudu horn - blown to summon African villagers to meetings. Later versions were made of tin.

The trumpet became so popular at football matches in the late 1990s that a company, Masincedane Sport, was formed in 2001 to mass-produce it. Made of plastic, they come in a variety of colours - black or white for fans of Orlando Pirates, yellow for Kaizer Chiefs, and so on - with little drawings on the side warning against blowing in the ear!

There's uncertainty on the origin of the word "vuvuzela". Some say it comes from the Zulu for - wait for it - "making noise". Others say it's from township slang related to the word "shower", because it "showers people with music" - or, more prosaically, looks a little like a shower head.

The announcement, on 15 May 2004, that South Africa would host the 2010 Fifa World Cup gave the vuvuzela a huge boost, to say the least - some 20 000 were sold on the day by enterprising street vendors.

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12.10.2009 Armenia

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"I am improving, as is the team"

Realmadrid.com

In an interview with Realmadrid.com, Xabi Alonso briefly analyzed how the team is playing and what it must do to continue improving.

If you play well does Madrid play well?

No. If Madrid play well then I probably play well. I think we all need one another. This is a team sport, so we need everyone to do well.

Has the Bernabeu seen the best version of you?

I think I have played an important rold and I am happy, but I am still adjusting. I am improving, as is the team. I feel more comfortable each day. The team is attacking and defending better. The more balanced we are the better.

What about the best version of Kaka?

There will always be comparisons with the past and many of us have room for improvement.

Does Cristiano Ronaldo still have something to prove?

He can do much more and I am sure he will.

Does the team need to play smarter football?

In my position I have to read the game well, understand what the team needs, provide balance, organize as much as possible and communicate with teammates.

Does that require keeping a cooler head than the rest of the team?

Sometimes, but there are others when tempers can flare. But you do need to have some perspective, distance yourself and try to read the game.

The team is improving and now tends to over open spaces better.

I think we cover a lot of ground and open spaces are filling up. We know we have a player for every position, the balance and defensive-offensive transition is working and we are pressuring in attack, which allows us to steal more balls, play closer to our opponents’ goal and control matches. Earlier on it was to and fro and we didn’t dictate the tempo, but we are doing better.

Do you prefer touch football or a more direct game?

I like to combine the two and I believe there is a time for everything. Sometimes you have to slow the game down and in others you see open spaces that make you play vertical football with intensity and aggressiveness. The better a team can adopt both formats the better off it will be.

Do you think the perfect play consists of 30 passes and a goal or one long pass and the ball in the back of the net?

They are both perfect as long as they result in a goal.

Is it easier for you to open the game up along the right wing or the left?

I try both because oftentimes I don’t have a choice and I need to make a quick decision. I am right-footed but I try to use my left as well.

Lass says he is the workhorse and that you pass and clear the ball.

I sometimes put on the war paint as well and battle for the ball. Lass is a great player and I think we do well together.

Would you like more chances to shoot on goal?

It depends on where I play. If I play in a more advanced position I have more chances, but sometimes I have to play my position more and cover spaces. We all like to score. Let’s see if my first goal comes soon.

Another task on the list was ball possession.

Possession is very important, but you then need to know what to do with the ball. Having the ball without an objective is futile, but for a team to control a match it needs to have the ball and the ability to knock defenses off balance by risking a little more.

A victory against Malaga would give you a perfect home record in the first half of the season.

Winning at home and making other teams think how hard it is to win here is crucial. We had some good games on the road but lately we have had a little trouble, which is what we probably have to work and improve on.

Having already visited some of the league’s most hostile stadiums, will this second half of the season be a little easier?

Ideally we would like to remain undefeated at home and win many matches, so that may be the case at first glance. But once the season comes close to ending teams are in desperate need of points, whether it’s in La Liga or the Champions League, things can get quite complicated.

What concerns you most about Malaga?

They have played well recently. I think they have gone nine straight matches without losing. They are no longer in the relegation zone and will want to continue their climb. We need to respect them.

Casillas says winning La Liga is more feasible, but in six matches you could be in the Champions League final.

We have chances in both competitions, but we have to play very well. We have strong opponents in La Liga like Barcelona who rarely lose, which means we have to win a lot of matches. In the Champions League we know that anything can happen and that we cannot afford one bad performance. Perhaps we will make it to the final in the Bernabeu if we play six great games.

Are the five points to be concerned about or to react to?

We prefer not to be down by so many. Last week didn’t bode well because we lost and Barcelona won, but there are many points still up for grabs and we cannot be thinking about the five points. We need to take one game at a time and hope that they slip up at some point.

One of the keys to this team is the depth. Kaka and Pepe get hurt and Van der Vaart and Garay step up; Higuain is injured and Benzema and Raul are there to fill in…

Very important. The coach knows how to manage the situation and we haven’t been affected by the various injuries, which will help down the road in both competitions.

At what capacity percentage wise is Real Madrid playing right now?

This isn’t match, but I think there is room for improvement.

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