Marcos Alonso is one of those players you would enjoy watching when he plays on the pitch. Unless you’re Paul Merson, chances are that when you see a handsome, free-flowing locks-rocking man gliding down the Blues’ left-hand side to exchange cute passes with Eden Hazard or float an inviting cross for Alvaro Morata to head into the far corner, you will be mesmerised.
Even when putting on the odd tackle or two, the Blues’ jet-heeled leftback remains in his usual calm and “couldn’t-really-be-bothered” approach, judging by his disciplinary record for Chelsea. In two (and some) swashbuckling campaigns at Stamford Bridge, Alonso is yet to receive a red card.
No coach would want any of his players getting sent off, yet one could be forgiven by thinking that Antonio Conte, who always looked like the perfect example of someone about to spontaneously combust on the touchline, may perceive this as a lack of bite on the challenge. The way in which the fullback was able to keep his boy-next-door style in his two seasons under the fiery Italian manager was nothing short of extraordinary. Truly, Alonso is as serene as a Spanish siesta.
But off the pitch, the usually mild-mannered Alonso has recently revealed what almost made him lose the plot – with the telly the would-be unassuming victim of his sudden fit of rage.
“When you see the [Champions League] draw on TV, the groups and your team is not there, I felt like smashing the TV set,” said Alonso in an interview with a Spanish radio station. “I hope it’s a lesson for us to fight this year and compete for the Premier League and qualify for the Champions League. I think last season we deserved more and it’s a pity not be in the competition this season.”
After finishing as champions in Conte’s debut season at Stamford Bridge, the Blues slumped to a fifth-place finish in the last campaign, seeing them plunge the depths of the Europa League this season. Presently, it may be too early to say but considering the Blues’ magnificent start to the new Premier League campaign, the Spaniard perhaps might have to hold his purchase of a new giant screen as the centrepiece of his living room.
