When former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is asked whether he had expected his then-players Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa to become managers, his response is brutally honest.
"Alonso, yes. Arbeloa, not really," he says. "For me, Arbeloa was a surprise."
Almost 20 years after Benitez brought them together at Anfield, the pair will go head-to-head as Arbeloa's Fulham host Alonso's Chelsea on Monday.
The pair won the 2010 World Cup and two European Championships with Spain, along with domestic league and cup triumphs when they both joined Real Madrid after Liverpool.
They played together for seven years at club level and shared the pitch 262 times for club and country, and their careers have remained closely intertwined since.
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"Alonso, yes. Arbeloa, not really," he says. "For me, Arbeloa was a surprise."
Almost 20 years after Benitez brought them together at Anfield, the pair will go head-to-head as Arbeloa's Fulham host Alonso's Chelsea on Monday.
The pair won the 2010 World Cup and two European Championships with Spain, along with domestic league and cup triumphs when they both joined Real Madrid after Liverpool.
They played together for seven years at club level and shared the pitch 262 times for club and country, and their careers have remained closely intertwined since.
#head
1 month ago
