“Almost 11 years after his last game as a Real Madrid player, Xabi Alonso is back at Real Madrid as head coach. He played 236 games in five seasons for the club, winning the Champions League and La Liga once, and the Copa del Rey twice. But all these are achievements of the past, as he is well aware, due to the demands of the club. As the modern anthem says: ‘History you made, history to be made… .’ Alonso’s arrival at the Bernabeu has been a persistent rumour since the beginning of the 2023-24 season. However, it only became a serious possibility during this campaign. …”
NY Times/The Athletic
Xabi Alonso: Inside the deal that took him back to Real Madrid from Bayer Leverkusen
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“It’s that time of year again. Liverpool have finally lifted the Premier League trophy after securing the title last month, but the main prize is not the only thing being handed out. Mohamed Salah hoovered up the individual awards, with 29 goals securing the Golden Boot and 18 assists grabbing the Playmaker award for the second time in a Liverpool shirt. Golden glove? That goalkeeping accolade was shared between Nottingham Forest’s Matz Sels and David Raya of Arsenal, with 13 clean sheets apiece. …”
“Manchester City’s dominance finally came to an end, Liverpool were able to celebrate the title in front of their fans for the first time in 35 years, two of the ‘Big Six’ finished in the bottom six and the promoted clubs all went straight back down.Those might be the raw headlines from 2024-25 but this Premier League season offered so much more — this was the campaign, don’t forget, when a player got booked for imitating a seagull. Seb Stafford-Bloor, Tim Spiers, Nick Miller, Oliver Kay and Stuart James reflect on the highs and the lows as another year of English top-flight football reaches its conclusion. …”
Scissors Kick 