INCREDIBLE: Xabi Alonso ALMOST missed the World Cup final for this reason
Xabi Alonso was very close to missing the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup
The 2010 was possibly one of Xabi Alonso's best seasons. He was an undisputed starter at Real Madrid, winner of the Copa del Rey, and the most important achievement of his career, obtaining the 2010 World Cup with the Spanish National Team. In that tournament, he was one of the most important players in the midfield, who played in every game as a starter. However, not many know of a recent anecdote that was released recently. Xabi Alonso came close to missing the semi-final against Germany and possibly the final against the Netherlands. And no, it has nothing to do with the terrible kick he suffered from Nigel de Jong.
On July 7, 2010, Spain faced Germany at the Moses Mabhida Stadium for a place in the world final. The telephone in the room had already rung to remind the players that in ten minutes they had to go down to the hotel lobby. Xabi Alonso heard this sound while he was taking a bath. He reported that it was a custom for him to bathe in cold water before playing a game. When he finished bathing, he grabbed the bathroom handle (to avoid slipping), and suddenly the hinges that held the handle came loose from the wall. In addition, due to the slip, he hit the glass partition and broke it into thousands of pieces.
"Blood always shocks, but in this case what shocked me was seeing my knee with a cut from side to side from which the fat attached to the skin and the muscle tissue exposed. The only pain was internal. Goodbye to the semifinal and the World Cup final. I couldn't believe it. The panic attack and anguish that I suffered surely prevented me from bursting into tears". But Xabi Alonso did not want to miss the semi-finals and so he called Dr. Juan Jose Garcia Cota, the team's doctor.
Xabi Alonso playing the 2010 World Cup semi-finals with the red bandage
"When I enter the room, I find Xabi pale and shaken, almost in shock. He had covered his knee with a towel to open the door for me. He was drenched in blood, the bathroom looked like the shower scene from Psycho. It was totally a crime scene. He only managed to tell me imploringly: ‘Doctor, for God's sake, do what you want but I have to play.' I still retain his words in my head".
"My head told me that it was impossible for Xabi to play and that he had to inform the coach. It was a fight between the head and the heart. I had many doubts about whether to tell Vicente [Del Bosque] what had happened and I still have them. I don't know if I did the right thing, but I went with the wounded one. Let's say that Xabi's gaze won out over reason".
Finally, the Doctor decided to keep it a secret, he dressed Xabi's wound and applied a bandage to prevent bleeding. Xabi wore Joggin's pants to hide the secret and thus, he arrived at the stadium without any problem. At the stadium, Dr. Cota, with the help of Miguel Gutiérrez (physiotherapist), anesthetized his leg and stitched the wound. Cota put a strong reddish bandage on her that stuck out above her stockings. Nobody noticed anything and Xabi went out onto the pitch to play alongside Xavi Hernández and Sergio Busquets. "It was no joke, 14 stitches above the knee. We came to an agreement. If I felt discomfort during the warm-up, we had to talk to the coach and tell him what had happened. It was the only condition I put on Xabi".
But fortunately, Xabi Alonso managed to play the semifinals and the final without any problem. Years later, they told the truth to Vicente del Bosque, who did not give much importance to the anecdote.
Xabi Alonso played the semifinals with a cut on his knee
Continue reading: A FIFA world cup between world champions?
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