Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso reveals his best friend is one of Spain’s most promising bull fighters

MARCOS ALONSO will do almost anything to be crowned a Premier League champion in his first season with Chelsea. Just don’t ask him to grab the bull by the horns.

He happily leaves that to best mate Gonzalo, who risks his life facing down a ton of angry Spanish meat for a living as one of the country’s most promising young matadors.

Losing a football match to Tottenham last week is one thing but hurt takes on a whole new meaning coming off second best in the ring.

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Madrid-born Alonso shows me just how painful it can be, flicking through his smartphone where there are dozens of pictures of him and Gonzalo together.

One shows his friend being tossed high in the air — a bull’s horn firmly embedded into his leg.

One false move at the Corrida — or bullfight — puts the dangers of playing football into chilling perspective.

Alonso said: “It’s terrifying. The horn of the bull went into his leg near the top and out the other side.

“But he refused to leave. He just took off his tie, tied it around his thigh and carried on. Only afterwards did he go to hospital.

“They are made of different stuff to normal people. I don’t ever think I am going to go out and die on a football pitch.

“We can get injured but they are at a different level — it’s their life against the bull’s.

“I know a lot of people don’t agree with killing the bulls. But the people who love the bulls more than anyone else are the bullfighters.

“It is their families who breed the animals, too, and really care for them during their lives. It’s not for me to mix the politics with the sport.

“But I will just say that lots of animals are killed for fur and clothes, too. Gonzalo is young for a bullfighter at 25. Only the very best get to go to Madrid and he has already been a couple of times and I have seen him.

“I also went to the countryside with him where they train.

“They start off practising against small cows and young bulls. He asked me if I wanted to have a go but no way was I getting in there.

“I couldn’t risk the injury to my legs. But it is fascinating and the top fighters are treated like the best footballers in Spain.”

Alonso’s fearless friend has returned the compliment and visited Chelsea’s Surrey training ground, where he also hooked up with fellow Spaniard Diego Costa.

Chelsea’s modest wing-back’s intriguing hobby is the first real insight into the man who covers the hard yards, hugging the touchline inside the No 3 shirt for the Premier League leaders.

Stamford Bridge is the third stop off in England for Alonso, 26, after six-month spells at Bolton and Sunderland — and it is his most successful so far.

The former Spain Under-19 star wants to stay at Chelsea for years — despite admitting that playing in the new wing-back system under demanding boss Antonio Conte has made him work harder than ever.

“This is the reward for my hard work,” said Alonso in puffa jacket and jeans, looking more everyday man than professional footballer as we chat in a glass-walled office at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground.

“I decided to join Bolton because I didn’t get lots of minutes at Real Madrid.

“I learnt a lot at Bolton. At Sunderland I had six months. When I arrived they were bottom of the table and we got to the League Cup final and finished the season in 14th.

“In those six months we beat Chelsea and Man United. Now I think it’s the reward for the hard work, being in a top team and helping them to win games.

“I want to play here for a long time. I still have more to give.”

In his fluent English, Alonso added: “It’s a hard position to play. You have to run a lot more and when you get the ball you are not as fresh as when you are four at the back.

“I go to attack maybe eight times in a game instead of around four. In this position you have to be at the far post when the ball is coming from the right. It’s hard to be fresh but I think we are helping the team a lot — but I have to keep the fitness up.

“We train very well with the manager. He makes us very good physically.

“It’s the hardest I have trained with any manager, I think. Italians work hard physically and tactically.”

Chelsea bid to bounce back today at defending Premier League champions Leicester — having lost their
last match 2-0 at Spurs to receive a wake-up call.
The Blues, though, remain five points clear at the top.

Yet Alonso said: “Even if we were eight points clear we know we would have done nothing yet — it’s January. We have to keep working hard.

“Losing to Spurs was tough. It was a derby match but after winning 13 in a row, it makes it a little easier to take. Every game in this league is tough.”

Marcos Alonso is supporting the Chelsea Foundation, which is dedicated to providing football to support communities at home and abroad. The Foundation engages and inspires more than one million people of all ages and backgrounds each year, promoting health, education and social inclusion. For more details go to chelseafc.com/foundation