Alonso: I wish we had Ronaldo at Bayern

Bayern Munich midfielder Xabi Alonso says he would love to have a goalscorer of the calibre of Cristiano Ronaldo at the Allianz Arena.

The Portugal star has recaptured some of his best form in recent weeks after a brief goal drought, with five goals in his last two matches helping to propel Real Madrid to a six-point lead at the top of LaLiga.

Alonso spent five years alongside Ronaldo with Madrid, winning LaLiga, the Champions League, the Spanish Supercup and the Copa del Rey twice before leaving to join Bayern in 2014.

The former Spain midfielder says a forward of Ronaldo’s level would be welcome at Bayern and has praised the way in which he has altered his game in recent seasons to become more of a penalty-box poacher.

“Cristiano has adapted on the pitch. He’s not a central striker, [but] he wants to play closer to the area,” Alonso told Onda Cero.

“He intuitively knows where the ball will go – a lot of goals are scored with his first touch.

“I think he’s done very well, having taken this step and getting closer to the area. As long as he’s getting 50 goals, I wish we had someone like him here. Cristiano’s numbers are amazing, indisputable.”

Alonso admits he has been surprised by the success of Zinedine Zidane in his first year in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The former France star won the Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup before setting Madrid firmly on course for their first league title since 2012 this term, all since taking over from Rafael Benitez in January.

“Of course Zidane has surprised me as a coach. I didn’t know how he would do,” said Alonso, whose final year in the Spanish capital was spent with Zidane as assistant coach to Carlo Ancelotti.

“He was helpful during the Decima year [in 2014]. He couldn’t have done better. He won the Undecima, they have a six-point advantage and they’re dominating.”

Alonso believes that Madrid’s presiding “air of superiority” bodes well for Saturday’s Clasico at Camp Nou, while he considers Barcelona to be content with a counter-attacking approach.

“Madrid have a solidity when it comes to approaching matches,” he said. “In games in which they play well and others where they’re not as good, they have the confidence that they’re going to do well.

“They have an air of superiority, in a good way.

“Barcelona are suffering in some games away from home. This Barca is better playing on the counter-attack, they’ve changed their type of game. In Pep Guardiola’s era, they were better playing positionally.”

Source: soccerway.com