Daniel Taylortalks to an Anfield favourite who is even more popular than Steven Gerrard in some quarters

WHEN XABI Alonso first arrived in Liverpool he remembers being surprised by the number of his new team-mates who lived outside the city. Alonso wanted to be in the heart of Liverpool, somewhere where he could walk around and soak in the atmosphere, immerse himself in the culture of a new city. He was drawn to the waterfront and the sense of history around the Albert Dock, with its Grade One listed buildings, the bars and galleries, and the sweeping views of the Mersey.

He has lived here for four years now - he, his girlfriend, Nagore, and their seven-month-old son, Jon. It is a nice life. People wave at him in his car. Maitre d's insist he always gets a good table. Schoolchildren send him letters of charming clumsiness. There are even times when the players run out at Anfield and his name is sung before Steven Gerrard's.

Alonso has become an honorary Scouser, and it is easy to understand why he talks with such a strong affinity for his adopted city. "It's a unique place," he says.

These, however, are strange times for the man whose perceptive range of passing makes him the brains of Liverpool's midfield. "There has been a lot of uncertainty," he acknowledges, reflecting on the wild graph of highs and lows that has formed his summer and, in particular, the knowledge that his time on Merseyside could easily have come to an abrupt, and wholly unsatisfactory, end.

The highs have been exhilarating, the lows excruciating. While Alonso was helping Spain win the European Championship, he was also coming to terms with the fact his employers were trying to sell him against his wishes.

As Spain's open-top bus inched its way through the centre of Madrid - "You had to be there to understand what those celebrations were really like," he says with a smile - there was always that nagging thought that Rafael Benitez wanted to replace him with Gareth Barry.

One question kept popping up in Alonso's mind: why? "It was a new situation for me, something I had never experienced before," he says. "I came back to the club not knowing where my future was and there was a lot of talk that I would be leaving. That was the feedback I got - that other clubs were interested in me. I'm just glad that, in the end, nothing came of it because it wasn't something I ever asked for."

He could be forgiven if he feels harshly treated given his importance to the team since his €13.6-million signing from Real Sociedad. "I certainly don't see myself as having anything to prove," he says. "Everyone should know my quality and what I bring to the team."

Yet the Spaniard is philosophical, too. "I just have to accept that is football and this is the kind of thing that can happen. It is a fact for any footballer - you can be really happy, but if the club don't want you, you have to accept it. It's the business we're in. It is not always easy to detach yourself from things like that, but I don't want to keep looking back at how I was treated. It's part of football and the main thing is that it was all resolved and I am now playing regularly."

All of which will go down well with those supporters who had taken advantage of Liverpool's pre-season game against Lazio to make it clear what they thought about losing such a popular player, repeatedly chanting his name and imploring Benitez to change his mind.

"That meant so much to me. It was an emotional moment for me and, if I had any doubts about staying, they disappeared that night. It was the supporters' way of showing that they wanted me to stay and that they appreciated loyalty from players. Not just the local boys like Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher but foreign players like Dietmar Hamann and Sami Hyypia, and Jan Molby before them.

"They couldn't have done more to show me how they felt. And it was the same whenever I went into the centre of Liverpool. If I went out for lunch or a coffee, there was always someone who would come over and say, 'We'd love you to stay.'

"I got a few letters as well and they were all really appreciated."

The fact, however, is that Alonso would have been sold if Juventus or Arsenal had come up with Liverpool's €23-million asking price, and there will probably always be unanswered questions about how it has affected his relationship with Benitez. "Professional," is the word Alonso uses. He also says, more than once, that there has been "no confrontation" and that he does not bear a grudge because "that's not my personality".

Yet there are glimpses of hurt. He is asked whether, at any stage, he felt let down by his manager and his reply speaks volumes.

"You always want to feel important at wherever you are at," he says.

He is also alarmed by the suggestion that Benitez was affronted by him missing a Champions League tie against Internazionale in March to attend the birth of his son. "I had to be with my partner," he explains.

The impressive - and surprising - thing is that the last few months do not seem to have rocked Alonso's confidence.

It cannot be very pleasant, in any work environment, finding out your boss does not rate you as highly as you thought. Yet Alonso has started this season impressively. "I feel settled again," he says. "I have just concentrated on giving 100 per cent in every game."

He has been influential in Liverpool's unbeaten start to the season, yet Alonso also remembers them having a good opening to last season. "The problem was we could not sustain it," he says. "We fell behind and never recovered. This time, if we want to challenge for the title, we cannot afford to have a bad month. We are going to have to be so consistent, so strong, and maintain our current form for the rest of the campaign."

They play at Manchester City tomorrow and Alonso is intrigued by his first look at the Premier League's nouveau riche billionaires.

"It's strange because you know that it could be unfair in some ways. I don't know if it needs to be regulated. Otherwise the clubs owned by billionaires will be here [he points upward] and the ones owned by millionaires will be several levels below."

It is an interesting take, though Alonso is aware that Liverpool also have wealthy admirers.

"I wouldn't be surprised," he says, "if something happens in the future here too."

If so, he would like to be there to experience it, though he is understandably wary about looking too far ahead. "I could see myself staying here a lot more years, but maybe this summer something might happen again. You have to be happy at the club but the club has to be happy with you too. All I can say is that I'm really happy here. There are not many better clubs to play football for than Liverpool."

Guardian Service