Marcos Alonso

Alonso keeps the blue flag flying high!

Chelsea maintained their advantage at the top of the Premier League with a 3-1 away win at Bournemouth. Chelsea took the lead in the 17th-minute when Bournemouth defender, Adam Smith, headed into his own net. Eden Hazard extended Chelsea's lead in more traditional fashion, just two minutes later. N'Golo Kante played a fantastic through ball and Hazard went round the goalkeeper with ease. Bournemouth, however, fought back, and scored a goal just before the break. Joshua King scored his 11th goal of the season and only Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku have scored more goals than King in 2017. But, Chelsea extended their lead in the second half when Marcos Alonso scored a wonderful free kick. The Chelsea defender hit the free kick with power and accuracy. The ball went over the wall and into the very top corner of the goal. Has there been a better free kick scored this season?

Well done, my friend. What a free kick! Congratulations!

Eden Hazard, talking to Alonso on TV after the match.

What do we know about Marcos Alonso?

Marcos Alonso Mendoza was born on 28 December 1990 in Madrid, the capital of Spain. He joined Real Madrid's youth team when he was just nine years old and represented the famous Spanish team at every level of youth football. When he was 18, Alonso started to play for Real Madrid Castilla, which is Real Madrid's reserve team. He played 39 times for Castilla and during this time also played for the Spanish team at under-19 level. He made his way into the first team squad in 2009/10, under the management of Manuel Pelligrini, the ex-Manchester City manager. In April 2010, Alonso made his debut for Real Madrid when he came on as a 90th minute substitute. Unfortunately, this was the only appearance Alonso made for Real Madrid and in the summer of 2010 Alonso started his Premier League journey.

We have seven games to play and we will be ready for the seven games.

Marcos Alonso. 

Is Alonso new to the Premier League?

Alonso's first Premier League club was Bolton Wanderers, who are now in League One (the third level of English football). He made nine appearances for Bolton in 2010/11 and 2011/12, and could do nothing to stop Bolton from being relegated. The following season, in the Championship, Alonso became a regular starter and was voted Player of the Season by Bolton fans. His impressive performances for Bolton earned Alonso a move to Florence, Italy to play for Fiorentina in Serie A. But, Alonso couldn't stay away from the Premier League and during his first season in Italy he was sent out on loan to play for Sunderland, which became his second Premier League club. He played only 16 times for the Black Cats but was very successful. He helped Sunderland win their relegtion fight, he helped the team reach the League Cup Final (after beating Man Utd in the semi-finals) and helped Sunderland beat Newcastle 3-0 in the Tyne-Wear Derby. At the end of the season, however, Alonso returned to Italy. He had played over 80 times for Fiorentina when, in September 2016, Chelsea paid a reported fee of £24 million to bring Alonso back to the Premier League for a third time. 

I think this is the perfect place for me to continue developing. It's time for me to win some titles!

Marcos Alonso, speaking about signing for Chelsea in Sptember 2016.

What did his dad (and grandad) do?

Marcos Alonso is not the first successful footballer from his family. Alonso's father, also called Marcos, was a winger for both Athletico Madrid and Barcelona in the 1980s. He played over 100 times for both clubs. He won La Liga with Barcelona in 1984/85 and reached the Final of the European Cup with Barcelona in 1986. He also helped Spain reach the final of the 1984 European Championships in France. Marcos Alonso's grandfather, like his father also called Marcos, was a professional footballer, too. His nickname was Marquitos and he was part of possibly the most successful club team in football history. He played for Real Madrid in the 1950s and Marquitos won La Liga six times and was part of the Real Madrid team that won the European Cup five times in a row from 1955 to 1960. Marcos Alonso 'junior' could win his first title with Chelsea this season but he needs to win a few more if he wants to catch up with his grandad! Football certainly runs in the family! 

What's the Premier League and family connection?

Player	Family
Kasper Schmeichel	Peter Schmeichel
Eniola Aluko	Sone Aluko
Andre Ayew	Jordan Ayew
Yaya Toure	Kolo Toure
Chícharito	Chícharo

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