Where was Xabi Alonso in Jan 1998? We’re asking for Trent’s 50-yard ping

In 1998, Xabi Alonso was an unknown quantity. He was a mere whippersnapper – albeit a very talented, handsome whippersnapper – in the Real Sociedad academy. We know that because we saw it on Wikipedia.

What don’t know, though, is Xabi Alonso’s specific whereabouts in the first month of that year. And we want to find out.

As we are all made painfully aware every time England play like shit at a World Cup, Spanish football takes a month-long break each mid-winter.

And we have a question: during that break in 1998, did young Xabi take a quick trip to soak up the sights and sounds of his future home city, Liverpool?

We’re asking for a friend – and that friend’s name is Trent Alexander-Arnold’s 50-Yard Wonderpass At The Estadio Da Luz In Lisbon On Tuesday Night.

You see, our mate Trent Alexander-Arnold’s 50-Yard Wonderpass At The Estadio Da Luz In Lisbon On Tuesday Night has been looking into its family history but has struggled to find its paternal grandfather.

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s 50-Yard Wonderpass At The Estadio Da Luz In Lisbon On Tuesday Night is a good looking thing.

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s 50-Yard Wonderpass At The Estadio Da Luz In Lisbon On Tuesday Night was begat of the foot of a genius.

Liverpool were already 1-0 up in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final first leg against Benfica. A header from Ibrahima Konate had given them an early lead.

• • • •

READ: Recalling when Xabi Alonso made two mind-bending assists in 15 minutes

• • • •

Liverpool pressed and probed. They had the Portuguese club on the ropes and were softening them up with a few body blows. Then, with fifteen minutes to go before half time, they finally landed another telling right.

Ibrahima Konate picked up a loose ball near the halfway line, spotted our mate’s dad Trent Alexander-Arnold to his right and laid it into him. Liverpool’s right-back looked up, spotted Luis Diaz careering ebulliently towards the Benfica box and our mate was born.

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s 50-Yard Wonderpass At The Estadio Da Luz In Lisbon On Tuesday Night pinged off of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s right boot and up into the Iberian night sky.

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s 50-Yard Wonderpass At The Estadio Da Luz In Lisbon On Tuesday Night had a delicious little hint of backspin on it, found Diaz perfectly, made its way from Diaz’s bonce to Sadio Mane’s toe and then into the back of the Benfica net. Two-nil, Liverpool in full control.

Oh WOW! 🤩

Look at that vision from Trent Alexander-Arnold 🎯

An unselfish header from Luis Diaz and Sadio Mane is on hand to make it 2-0 from a few yards out!#UCL pic.twitter.com/UkakQekhnG

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 5, 2022

The thing is, as we watched our mate Trent Alexander-Arnold’s 50-Yard Wonderpass At The Estadio Da Luz In Lisbon On Tuesday Night, we couldn’t help think that it reminded us of few other old mates of ours.

Collectively, we refer to those mates as Xabi Alonso’s 50-Yard Wonderpasses At Anfield In The Mid-Noughties. We’ve not seen them for a few years, but we reckoned the resemblance was uncanny.

What we did, then, was look up a few of Xabi Alonso’s 50-Yard Wonderpasses At Anfield In The Mid-Noughties on social media. Turns out we were right. They are a lot like Trent Alexander-Arnold’s 50-Yard Wonderpass At The Estadio Da Luz In Lisbon On Tuesday Night.

I mean, have a look at this one. The trajectory, the backspin, the perfect radar-like location of the recipient. Uncanny.

So, as we knew our mate Trent Alexander-Arnold’s 50-Yard Wonderpass At The Estadio Da Luz In Lisbon On Tuesday Night was looking into its family history, looking for its paternal grandfather, we decided to give it a tinkle.

‘You know,’ we said, ‘we used to have these mates back in the day who were called Xabi Alonso’s 50-Yard Wonderpasses At Anfield In The Mid-Noughties. Their dad was a fella called Xabi Alonso. Spanish. Sophisticated. Lovely hair.

‘Anyway, Xabi Alonso’s 50-Yard Wonderpasses At Anfield In The Mid-Noughties bear an uncanny resemblance to you. Do you know where their dad Xabi was when your dad Trent was conceived in January 1998? Just a thought.’

Our mate Trent Alexander-Arnold’s 50-Yard Wonderpass At The Estadio Da Luz In Lisbon On Tuesday Night has decided to go for a DNA test.

If we’re honest, we expect the results to show a very close match.

If Trent’s passes look so much like Xabi’s passes, there is only one conclusion we can come to.

By Joshua Law

More Liverpool

Sure, Xabi Alonso’s passing was good, but have you seen his goals?

Comparing TAA’s Liverpool record with David Beckham’s at Man Utd

Can you name Liverpool’s top 30 goalscorers in the Premier League?

17 of the best quotes on Xabi Alonso: ‘It was clear he was royalty’