sport news Inside Xabi Alonso's life off the pitch: A model wife Peter Crouch once took a ... trends now
After Bayer Leverkusen's ecstatic celebrations had died down a bit, the hero who masterminded it all found time for family.
Xabi Alonso posted an Instagram snapshot with wife Nagore and their three children Jontxu, Ane and Emma, all smiling in the Leverkusen dressing room.
'My Team', he captioned it, with a heart emoji.
It was the Spanish manager's way of showing his appreciation for his family's sacrifices during what has been an historic - but seriously intense - season for the German club.
On Sunday, a 5-0 home win over Werder Bremen secured Leverkusen their first-ever Bundesliga title and they could yet add the German Cup and the UEFA Europa League.
Xabi Alonso poses with wife Nagore and their three children Jontxu, Ane and Emma after Bayer Leverkusen won an historic Bundesliga title last weekend
Wife Nagore Aranburu was a teenage sweetheart and the couple married in 2009
Alonso pictured with Juan Mata at an IWC Schaffhausen watch launch in Geneva in 2016
What's truly extraordinary is that Alonso's team have yet to suffer a defeat this season.
His talented and glamorous wife Nagore has worked as a model, an actress and a fashion designer.
The couple were teenage sweethearts who met when Alonso was playing for boyhood club Real Sociedad in his native Basque region.
They married in 2009, just as Alonso moved from Liverpool to Real Madrid. During his time on Merseyside, Nagore worked as a hotel receptionist, which led to a hilarious tale involving team-mate Peter Crouch.
'On signing for Liverpool I stayed at the Hope Street Hotel,' Crouch wrote in his 2018 autobiography.
'On reception was a girl so good-looking I couldn't quite believe she was smiling at me all the time.
'I told the lads in training. "Honestly, she's beautiful. I think I've got a shout here." Jamie Carragher called a few other senior players over. "Tell them again, Crouchie". So I did.
'She's all over me. I'm on fire.' Carra again, all interest. "What does she look like?" "Amazing. Dark-haired. Spanish-looking. I'm in there."
'It turned out she was Xabi Alonso's partner. She was doing a bit of work to practise her language skills. He was nice about it. So was she. Carra less so…'
Alonso's love of vintage cars is well-known with the Spaniard teaming up with Porsche Design
Peter Crouch mistook Nagore's politeness for affection when he encountered her working as a receptionist at the Hope Street Hotel when he played for Liverpool
Nagore has followed Xabi's football career around Europe as both as a player and a coach
The latest stop-off is Leverkusen, where Alonso has already written his name into history
Nagore and their three children have followed Xabi's career from
