Who Will Be Xabi Alonso's Replacement?

When Xabi Alonso got booked against Bayern Munich, Real Madrid were already up 0-3. A lot has been written about Alonso's contribution to this team, and the truth is he has finally been great in Real's crucial matches like the Copa del Rey Final or the 1-0 win against Bayern at the Bernabéu that started paving the road to Lisbon. But that yellow card was simply unacceptable. It needs to be said. Put it the way you want. Some might say that he put the team ahead of his own personal interests. But that play wasn't that dangerous anyway. Even Alonso knew it was a silly tackle as soon as he made contact with Schweinsteiger. It's been reported that Real Madrid will try to appeal that yellow card. But Valencia's Paco Alcácer missed the return leg of the UEFA Europe League for this. Valencia appealed too but UEFA did not want to hear anything about it. Alonso will not play.

And now it is time for Carlo Ancelotti to choose a replacement. We will be analyzing all his options during the next few days. But first, Real Madrid fans should be able to make their voices heard. Vote on this poll and choose your Xabi Alonso-replacement for Lisbon.

Stay tuned on Managing Madrid to get further analysis on which option is the best to replace Real's midfielder in Lisbon. La Décima is only 90 minutes away, and that yellow card should not hurt Madrid's chances if Carletto makes a good decision.