Xabi Alonso wants to win the sixth for Bayern

Xabi Alonso has the virtue -or the defect, depending for whom- of always going straight ahead, without losing his composure, calm and collected, firm and resounding. It doesn't matter if his words are in Spanish or English. His verb does not waver, he advances slowly, setting goals, envisioning challenges: "I would like to win my third Champions League with a third club -only Eto'o and Seedorf have that pleasure- and get the sixth for Bayern". That's how clear the player from Tolosa is, that in just under a month, he has won over everyone in Germany: the media, fans and managers. Few now think about what would have happened if Khedira arrived. Two games have been enough for the midfielder to show that he has plenty of school to take control of the Bavarian team. Without going any further, last weekend, against Stuttgart (2-0), establishing himself as the player with the most kilometers traveled and the best passer with a total of 150 touches (86%). "If we control the games, he can be there every three days, but if we don't and he has to run all the time, he's going to die in a month," Pep acknowledged after the match.

The adaptation of Tolosa has been as surprising as expected. The mimicry of him with the Bayern environment has been total from the beginning, making his debut in Gelsenkirchen after getting off the plane, putting on Lederhosen on his third day as a player and becoming the helmsman of the Bavarian team last weekend. "Great players don't need time, they come and play football," Rummenigge acknowledged. And Guardiola himself endorsed his words: "He knows everything he has to do on the pitch."

Overwhelmed by so much praise, Xabi Alonso preferred to be cautious in his first informal chat with the German press and El Mundo ahead of the Champions League, where Bayern make their debut with Manchester City in a group that also includes Roma and CSKA from Moscow: "Pellegrini is a good coach and in recent years they have signed very well. It is an important game for us because we play at home and it is always good to start with a victory". And he pointed to Silva as the most dangerous player, capable of moving between the lines, making the last pass, unbalancing in attack or reaching the area with danger. "If we control it, we will have the ball."

With his sights set on what happens on Wednesday, Xabi cannot deny that his decision to leave Real Madrid was, perhaps, the right one. The sensations of him, for the moment, are good, although he admits that he hopes to progress throughout the season. "I still feel very young despite my age." Precisely, the only thing that worries him is that he won't keep up with the pace of the Bundesliga, which is more physically demanding. Doubts that don't go through Alonso's head: "I'll go little by little feeling better. It doesn't matter how much you run, but how you do it." In any case, his situation could not be better. Not even in Madrid, whom he continues to give as the favorite to win the Champions League despite his recent setbacks: "The defeat against Atlético was very hard, especially after losing in San Sebastián. But they will come back, I'm sure" .