hena star
dies,it takes
a fewmillion
yearstoburn
throughany
remaining
fuel– swelling
insizetoa red
supergiant,
beforeblowing
itselfapart
ina sudden,
supernova
explosion.All
thatremainsis
a small,dense
blackholeuntil,
eventually,new
matterforms
planetsandfreshlifescattersacrossspace.
Whena footballteamgrowsoldtogether,
itsdeathis similar– albeita fewhundred
millionyearsshorter.Thecurtaincallis
imperceptibleatfirst:theymanagehowever
theycanandperhapsstillwintheoddtrophy
throughlittlemorethanmusclememory,
almostwithoutanyonenoticingthey’reon
theirlastlegs.Then,whenit’stoolatetodo
anything,theydestructbeforeyoureyes.
Leftbehindis a merehusk;memoriesof
whatwasoncethegalaxy’sbiggeststar.
It happenedtothegreatLeedssidethat
DonReviebuilt,andBillNicholson’sSpurs
inthemid-1970s.Liverpool’ssquadthat
wonthe1989-90FirstDivisionthoughttheir
eighthtitlein 12 seasonswasjustthelatest,
butanageingsquadrelaxedandfailedto
foreseetherevolutioninoff-fieldworkthat
thePremierLeaguewouldbring.
Thissummer,JurgenKloppwasworried.
True,hehadfinallyendedtheReds’30-year
waitfora top-flightcrown,buttheGerman
tacticianfearedteamshadstartedtofigure
hisdominantLiverpoolsideout.
Havingstormedto 26 winsfromtheirfirst
27 leaguegameslasttimeout,Klopp’smen
managedjustsixvictoriesintheirfinal11.
Theyhadalsobeensystematicallyshutdown
inthelast 16 oftheChampionsLeagueby
AtleticoMadrid,withtheirmidfieldlacking
line-breakingpassingqualitywhenboth
TrentAlexander-ArnoldandAndyRobertson
were stifled. The theory was a simple one:
stop the full-backs, stop Liverpool.
Klopp sought fresh blood in the same way
that part of Sir Alex Ferguson’s enduring
genius was an uncanny talent for constant
regeneration of title-winning Manchester
United squads. Klopp told the club’s transfer
committee, headed up by sporting director
Michael Edwards, that he wanted a “game
changer” – someone who could deliver the
unpredictability vital to his squad’s evolution.
He didn’t care that his chosen one was nearly
30 and would cost £27 million, despite being
available next summer for free.
“Thiago or no one,” was Klopp’s message.
Seven years ago, another revered coach
made the same demand. Bayern Munich
had just won the Treble, but Pep Guardiola
wanted a statement signing. After 12 major
honours, including seven straight Bundesliga
titles, the Champions League and Die Roten’s
second treble, it was safe to say that Thiago
Alcantara responds well to an ultimatum.BEAUTIFUL AND USEFUL
Speak to anyone who has spent any time
watching Thiago play and the same word
always comes up.
“He’s special,” asserted Alejandro Villar,
Thiago’s first coach for Ureca, an amateur
team near Vigo in north-western Spain.
“He was like nothing I’d ever seen before,
a crack. You can’t talk about progress and
evolution with a kid like that because he was
already exceptional. From his first training
session, one look was enough to see that he
wasn’t normal. You see a case like that one
in a thousand. Thiago was special from the
start. His brother, Rafinha, was the same.”
Football, and elite sport in general, is in
Thiago’s blood. His younger sibling counts
Barcelona, Inter and Celta Vigo among his
former clubs and is a Brazil international.
Their mother, Valeria, was a professional
volleyball player in Brazil, while their father,
Mazinho, lifted the 1994 World Cup with
Romario, Bebeto and Mauro Silva.
“Thiago is incredibly mature because he’s
been around elite sport all his life,” Spanish
commentator Alfredo Martinez, who has
followed Thiago’s development since his42 November 2020 FourFourTwo
early teens, tells FFT. “You grow up knowing
what needs to be done. You understand the
pressure you’re going to be under. You see it
in interviews – he’s a guy who talks about
topics and themes, not generic soundbites.
He says what he thinks and doesn’t worry
about what other people think.”
That confidence comes from being around
father Mazinho, who has acted as Thiago’s
representative throughout his career.
“All I have done is watch his games and
tell him that he could do things like this or
like that,” the former defensive midfielder
once said. “Maybe it’s natural: both he and
his brother have special coordination.”
That word again: special. Everyone notices
Thiago’s rare talent, despite him having not
made it to an elite academy until he joined
Barça at the relatively late age of 14; that,
after a fairly nomadic youth career at Ureca,
Kelme and Flamengo in Brazil while his dad
finished his own glittering career.
“Everyone knew that he’d go a long way,”
recalled Javier Lago, Thiago’s Ureca coach.
During those two years, he played alongside
his best friend and current Leeds forward,
Rodrigo Moreno. “We had a very good team,”
said Lago. “We won a Galician Cup and beat
Real Madrid and Deportivo La Coruna.”
In 2005, Barcelona swooped after spying
a similar display on the outskirts of Vigo. Real
Madrid, Valencia and Celta were all keen, but
Barça was the obvious choice.
“He piqued my interest straight away, as
he’s obviously a player with the Barcelona
DNA but with a Brazilian flourish,” continues
Martinez. “Technically, he’s a colossus – part
of the super-elite. He’s different. Xavi and
Andres Iniesta were practical players, very
intelligent, but Thiago has that magic; a shiny
ornament that just makes you think, ‘Wow’.”
As Barcelona B coach in 2007, Guardiola
promoted a 16-year-old Thiago to train withBelow left It
wasn’t easy to
oust Xavi and
Iniesta at Barça,
but Thiago had
his moments