Bayern Munich: Why It's Time for Pep Guardiola to Give Xabi Alonso a Break

When Xabi Alonso joined Bayern Munich in August, he replaced a player some nine years his junior, Toni Kroos. The veteran, who turned 33 in November, was approaching the twilight of his career.

Facing permanent bench status in Madrid, he retired from international duty with Spain and two days later penned a two-year deal with the Bavarian giants.

Due to the demanding nature of his position, Spain's international success from 2008 until shortly before his international retirement and the fact that he's played professionally since the age of 18, Alonso has clocked an enormous number of miles in his career.

And although last-season's tally of 3152 minutes played (per Transfermarkt) was his lowest since an injury-hampered 2007-08 campaign, the demands placed on his shoulders this campaign have been enormous.

Alonso has already played for 1544 of a possible 1705 minutes since joining Bayern and has not had a moment's rest since his substitution against Roma on November 5.

Pep Guardiola has had little choice than to play Alonso perhaps more often than he would like, with injuries to Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thiago Alcantara, Javi Martinez and more recently David Alaba and Philipp Lahm leaving him severely short of fit, qualified staff in the center of the pitch.

And Alonso's renaissance of form has made it hard to argue against his use. Although his long-term value may be limited, as a stopgap measure, the veteran has proved an inspired signing.

Lately, though, the scales have tilted. And now it's increasingly apparent that Alonso, as great as he's been, could use some rest.

Two weeks ago, he made an uncharacteristically sloppy pass that directly led to Sergio Aguero scoring an equalizer for Manchester City from precisely nothing. And on Saturday, he got in the way of a clearance that led to Karim Bellarabi having a one-on-one chance to give Leverkusen an early lead in Munich.

Weary legs make for careless errors, and two in as many games is cause for concern that he is in danger of being pushed to the breaking point. The fact that since Lahm and Alaba's injuries he's predominantly played as Bayern's only true midfielder between a five-man attack and four-man defense doesn't help, either.

Bayern have been forced to cope with a blight of injuries especially among their central midfield options, and using a player well into his 30s three times every week is, as Arsenal recently discovered in the case of Mikel Arteta, flirting with disaster. A lengthy injury absence to another key midfielder is exactly the last thing Guardiola could want.

The good news for the trainer is that Bayern have few games of importance between now and the winter break. As opposed to previous years, there is no DFB-Pokal fixture this December. Having already comfortably won their group, Bayern's upcoming Champions League fixture with CSKA Moscow is nothing but a dead-rubber.

Domestically, they lead Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga by seven points with fixtures against two sides in the lower half of the table (Mainz and Freiburg) and an overachieving Augsburg left to be played before the winter break.

There should be plenty of room for error in all four of Bayern's forthcoming fixtures, and if not overexerting Alonso for that stretch is part of that error, it's for the best.

Alonso's longest stint of continued play has come as new options have emerged for Guardiola who can ease their teammate's burden. Schweinsteiger has been fit to play for weeks, yet he has not played for more than 12 minutes in any of Bayern's four fixtures since he returned to action.

The Munich native may be injury-prone, but if Alonso can perform at 33, he can at 30. He just needs the opportunity to regain confidence, form and match fitness. Now would be the perfect time to give him playing time, lest he return from the winter break having only played a few minutes over the previous six-and-a-half months.

In addition to Schweinsteiger, Sebastian Rode deserves more playing time than he's been given. The recent signing from Frankfurt has done extremely well with his few chances, and his introduction in playing alongside Alonso on Saturday changed the game.

Bayern struggled against Leverkusen's high-intensity pressing system over the first 45 minutes, but once Rode came on at half-time, the pace slowed and the hosts looked much more in-control. And he's not just an extra brute in midfield: Even from a defensive position and with minimal time given, Rode (per Transfermarkt) has been directly involved in a goal (one goal, two assists) for every 111 minutes he's played.

At 24, Rode has a long career ahead of him; he'll be around long after Alonso, Lahm and Schweinsteiger retire. He could be the future of the Bayern midfield but only if given the chance to play.

Following Alonso's recent gaffes and considering his age and how often he's been used, it's high time Guardiola gave him a rest. Whether Schweinsteiger or Rode, there are two qualified options to at least share the burden with him throughout the rest of December as Bayern face entirely beatable opposition in games of relatively low stakes.

The telling stage of the season is still months away; for that time, Guardiola will want Alonso to be fit and in form. Letting him miss out on some of the action now is the best way to ensure he'll be ready when it matters most.

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