Real Sociedad’s Martín Zubimendi: ‘Xabi Alonso is an idol, a role model’

Martín Zubimendi isn’t tired of the constant comparisons to Xabi Alonso but he reckons Xabi Alonso might be. “He’s an idol, a role model, so I’m delighted that he says nice things about me,” the Real Sociedad midfielder says, smiling not blushing, the attempt to embarrass him with eulogies from his hero, the footballer he most admires, having failed. The words are welcome, on one side at least. “Thing is, I think it’s the other way round,” he says. “I get asked about him so much he must get bored of hearing me talk about him. He’ll be tired of me going on about how good he is.”

If the responses are inevitable, the questions are too. “Martín has the mark of Zubieta,” Alonso once said, and he knows. Zubieta is the Real Sociedad academy Zubimendi joined at 12, as Alonso had done 12 years earlier. Before that he played at local club Antiguoko, where Alonso had also begun. He watched his idol as a kid – he was five when Alonso arrived at Anfield, 10 when he joined Madrid – and plays in the same position, their style shared. He talks about the “values” and “personality” of the former Liverpool player, a discreet “leadership that was not for show”, and listening to him explain the central midfielder’s craft, there is something of Alonso too: in the tone, clarity, analysis, quiet authority. They even have the same agent.

They’re even playing Manchester United two and a half weeks apart: Zubimendi on Thursday in the Europa League at Old Trafford; Alonso on 24 September against their Legends team.

Oh, and Alonso was also his coach at Real Sociedad B, guiding him to the first team where he made his debut in 2020. A little more than his coach, in fact, which is why he might be wrong on this one. Alonso, bored? No. Instead there’s