A man who exudes class, Xabi Alonso called time on his playing career at the end of the Bundesliga season as a champion, something he has gotten used to after his time at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
His first taste of glory, of course, came when Liverpool defeated AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final, and that triumph naturally has a special place in Alonso's heart.
Speaking to Copa 90 at a recent Adidas event ahead of the 2017 Champions League final, Xabi Alonso admitted that the fulfillment he felt from winning that title was greater than any other at club level because it was so unlikely at the start of the season.
I don't think that in anyone's mind when we started the group stage, was the thought that we were able to win the trophy. We said we'll go step by step and see how it goes.
To be honest, we were not the best team, but maybe that's why it feels better because it was such a big surprise for everyone that we got to the final. We beat a top Chelsea side in the semi-final, with Mourinho. It was a goal [Luis Garcia's], I saw it.
Me, and the linesman, and no-one else.
After claiming that the World Cup was the absolute highlight of his career, Alonso took time out to acknowledge Istanbul as being right up there, which is when he was asked what went through his mind when he saw Dida go down and save his penalty.
Having stuffed the rebound into the roof of the next, Xabi Alonso was able to have a laugh as he claimed he briefly morphed into Gareth Bale when chasing up the loose ball.
I think that probably they were my quickest five meters ever. I'm not the quickest player, but those five meters were like Gareth Bale.
I said 'No, Xabi, that can't happen, you can't miss this one', that's why I reacted so quickly, and luckily. If not, the story probably would have been different.
The Spaniard admitted that it hadn't yet sunk in that he was retired, and that it won't feel strange until his former Bayern teammates all return to pre-season training while he has time to kill.
While he didn't make any promises, Alonso expressed his interest in coaching and credited every manager he played under in his career as having influenced his ideas on how he might go about being a coach or manager when the time comes.
We'll sure he'll make an excellent gaffer, and not just because he was a sublime player. You can check out his Q&A session with Copa 90 in full below.
