“I don’t have many regrets as a footballer,” said Pelé a year ago. “But I wish I had played at Wembley even once, even in a friendly.” The Alonso family has no such regrets. Marcos Alonso Imaz, Marcos Alonso Peña and Marcos Alonso Mendoza have won 27 Spain caps between them and all three have an appearance for La Roja at Wembley.
Marcos Alonso Imaz was the first. The grandfather of Chelsea’s current left-back was a member of the Real Madrid squad that won the first five European Cups between 1956 and 1960 – he even scored against Stade de Reims in the first final. That impressive medal haul, however, did not necessarily translate into regular international appearances.
Better known as Marquitos, he only ever won two caps for his country. His first came in a 2-1 defeat to France in 1955 and he did not play for Spain again until his visit to Wembley for a 4-2 defeat to England in 1960, by which time he was a five-time European champion.
Described as a defender full of heart and courage, he was one of the most reliable of his generation. “I would win balls through strength and anticipation,” he later said of his playing style. It was strange that Marquitos only represented his country on two occasions and was never on the winning side but his son, Marcos Alonso Peña, took over where he had left off, making his international debut in a memorable match for La Roja at Wembley on 25 March 1981.
Aged just 21, Alonso played the full 90 minutes of his debut as Spain won in England for the first time. The 2-1 victory went down well at home, with Julian García Candau reporting in El País: “A team that was theoretically inferior to the English was able to earn a positive result that will undoubtedly be remembered by fans like those previous wins over the English in 1929 or 1950.” García Candau went on to praise the hard work put in by the debutant and his strike partner Jesús María Satrústegui. “Marcos and Satrústegui stayed up front and were lost souls at points, but they persisted when it was necessary and were optimally situated for the moments of counter-attack.”
Alonso followed in the footsteps of his famous father in one sense, but their careers were also very different. Marquitos made his name in the Real Madrid defence, whereas his son spent most of his career as a forward with their two biggest rivals: Barcelona and Atlético Madrid – “if you want to join Atlético then go ahead, it’s fine with me,” said his father. When Alonso scored Barcelona’s 90th-minute winner in the Copa del Rey final in 1983, it came in a 2-1 victory against Real Madrid.
Marquitos won the European Cup five times but Alonso experienced heartache in his only final, missing a penalty for Barcelona as they lost to Steaua Bucharest in the 1986 final. Marquitos only played for Spain twice but his son went on to win 22 caps, even making the squad that finished runners-up at Euro 1984. And, unlike his father, Alonso gave management a go, taking charge of Rayo Vallecano, Racing Santander, Sevilla, Atlético Madrid, Real Zaragoza, Real Valladolid, Málaga and Granada.
Marcos Alonso Mendoza, the third footballer in the family, followed in his father’s footsteps in the sense that he also made his first start for Spain at Wembley – this time the new stadium – as Spain beat England in their opening match of the Uefa Nations League last September. Spain’s 2-1 win was just their second victory over England at Wembley, meaning they have only ever won at the ground with a Marcos Alonso in the side.
The youngest Alonso is something of a Wembley regular now. Having left the Real Madrid academy as a teenager (like his father) to move to England, Alonso has spent most of his career playing outside of Spain. He only ever represented the senior Real Madrid side for two minutes, fittingly doing so in an away game at Racing Santander – where his father and grandfather started their senior careers – before his move to Bolton in 2010.
In his first season at Bolton, he was heavily involved in their run to the FA Cup semi-finals only to be left out by Owen Coyle for the big match at Wembley. From the bench, he watched on as his teammates were hammered 5-0 by Stoke City.
Alonso left Bolton for Fiorentina in 2013, but was soon back in England, joining Sunderland on loan in January 2014. Just two months later he found himself walking out at Wembley for the League Cup final. In the build-up to the final he was asked about his previous snub at the ground for that FA Cup semi-final in 2011. “It was a bad day,” said Alonso. “But football always gives you another opportunity. Wembley is one of the top stadiums in the world.” Sadly for Alonso and Sunderland, Manchester City won the final 3-1.
A return to Italy followed in the summer of 2014 before Chelsea signed Alonso in 2016. He finally started to experience some Wembley joy with the Blues. In the 2016-17 season, he tasted his first Wembley win as Chelsea beat Tottenham 4-2 in the FA Cup semi-finals, although a defeat to Arsenal in the final – and another defeat to the same team in the Community Shield a few months later – meant he would have to wait for his first silverware at the stadium.
His fortunes soon turned around. Alonso scored his first goals at the ground in August 2017 in a 2-1 win over Tottenham in the Premier League, ruining Spurs’ first game at their temporary home. He won his first trophy at the ground last May, when Chelsea beat Manchester United in the FA Cup final. And he followed that up by completing his family’s triple Wembley legacy in September.
For three generations of the same family to have represented Spain is already an incredible feat, but for all three of them to have played for their country at Wembley is something that may never be emulated. In total, the three Marcos Alonsos boast 27 caps for Spain. But this tally could rise further if the youngest adds to his three appearances for the national side – or passes down his sporting genes. This family’s legacy isn’t over yet.
The Guardian Sport
