Which former Liverpool player does Jack Wilshere watch regularly…
Arsenal and England midfielder Jack Wilshere watches former Liverpool star Xabi Alonso on his iPad, and he believes that the clips help make him a better player.
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Reports in the Daily Mirror quote the 22-year-old, who was full of praise for the Bayern Munich man: “I have been watching Xabi Alonso on video in the past couple of weeks. He had a record number of passes in one game, 200 in one match, which is ridiculous.
“Watching players like him and Andrea Pirlo you learn how intelligent they are on the ball. In that role it’s important to understand that if you lose the ball the opposition are in a dangerous position to counter-attack.
“You learn how they use the ball and you learn when it’s a good time to dribble or sometimes pass. I enjoy playing that role. I enjoy getting on the ball and starting attacks.
“I get clips of Alonso through on my iPad. The analyst guys here send them to me and they highlight some of his key points, his key strengths. It’s a 20- to 25-minute package. It’s part and parcel of learning. Even when I watch my own games back, I think ‘what am I doing now, I should have done that’.”
CaughtOffside now counts down the top five masterful midfielders worth watching for inspiration – click on page two to begin the slideshow:
5) Daniele De Rossi (AS Roma)
The 31-year-old holding player is a one-club man, having remained with Roma throughout his career. He has made 448 appearances for his club in all competitions, while he has been capped 99 times by his country. He showed his lasting class at the World Cup this summer, where he produced a dominant display against England. He completed 99 of 105 passes within the match, and his absence from the Uruguay game through injury proved crucial.
4) Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
The 34-year-old has spent his entire career at Anfield, becoming team captain back in 2003. His honours include two FA Cups, three League Cups, one UEFA Champions League, one UEFA Cup, and two UEFA Super Cups. Zinedine Zidane said in 2009 that he considered Gerrard to be the best footballer in the world, and while his form has dipped in the last six months, he still shows flashes of the player that will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest in Liverpool’s history.
3) Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona)
The 34-year-old has played in excess of 700 matches, scored 82 goals and made more than 180 assists for over 50 players. He is the first player in Barcelona’s history to play 150 international matches, winning Euro 2008, World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012 ahead of his retirement. The embodiment of tiki-taka style of play, Xavi is considered to be one of the greatest central midfielders of all time and among the best playmakers of his generation. See him while you still can.
2) Xabi Alonso (Bayern Munich)
The 32-year-old inspired both Liverpool and Real Madrid to European triumphs in the last ten years, and will be hoping to complete a hat-trick of successes with new club Bayern Munich. He too was part of Spain’s three successive title victories, and has also retired from international duty, having been capped 114 times. As Wilshere explained, he is renowned as an incredible passer of the ball, with his range and vision virtually unstoppable.
1) Andrea Pirlo (Juventus)
The 35-year-old just gets better with age – emphasised by the Italian national team successfully pleading with him to end his international retirement following the start of the Euro 2016 campaign. Has enjoyed an extremely successful club career with Milan and Juventus, and was part of the Italy team that won the 2006 World Cup. He was the Italian League’s player of the year in both 2012 and 2013, despite his aging legs, and was voted part of the Europa League team of the season last year.
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