Gracias, Alexis Mac Allister

Where to start with Alexis Mac Allister, Brighton & Hove Albion and their journey together these past four-and-a-half years?

The beginning is probably a good place. When the news first broke that Brighton were about to sign a 21-year-old number 10 from Argentinos Juniors – the club which produced a certain Diego Armando Maradona – there was naturally great excitement.

Not so much about the football but about their being a bloke from Argentina with the surname Mac Allister. The first thing to do was Photoshop his head onto Kevin McCalister from Home Alone and write one hundred terrible puns about him being left out the squad at Christmas, etc.

Things got even better when it turned out Alexis had a brother who was actually called Kevin Mac Allister. It then transpired that his father was the spitting image of Pete from Gavin & Stacey.

Mac Allister had not kicked a ball in blue and white (or received a work permit) and he was already looking like a mighty successful signing. £7 million well spent, even if he could not enter the United Kingdom legally.

From when Brighton signed Alexis Mac Allister in January 2019, it would be another 12 months before that work permit arrived.

He spent that time on loan, first remaining with Argentinos Juniors and then moving to the legendary Boca Juniors. Maradona also famously played for both those clubs before heading for Europe.

Brighton were in a relegation battle when Mac Allister rocked up at the Amex. His debut came against Wolves in the final match before Covid-19 brought football as we knew it to a half for the best part of a year.

Mac Allister displayed some nice touches in his 10 minute cameo in what was otherwise a mind numbingly boring March afternoon at Molineux. Did anyone realise that day they were watching a future World Cup winner? I doubt it.

This rise to superstardom ultimately, I think, explains the universal popularity Alexis Mac Allister enjoys amongst Brighton fans. His growth and improvement mirrors that of the Albion.

In 2020, he was a promising number 10 playing for a club who had never finished outside the bottom six of the Premier League.

Three years on and he has developed into a complete midfielder coveted by the biggest clubs in the world for his performances in a Brighton side who have climbed into the top six and qualified for Europe.

Albion fans have been lucky enough to watch this transformation from duckling with a lot of potential into beautiful swan, achieved through hard work and dedication.

The journey has not been without challenges. Mac Allister was in and out of the team in his first two years in England, only really nailing down a first team spot in January 2022.

WAB were told during the previous month that Mac Allister was close to leaving the Albion because of the lack of first team football and its impact on his chances of making the World Cup. Whether that was true or indeed how close he was to departing, we will probably never know.

A match winning performance and brace in a 3-2 win at Everton on January 2nd could not have come at a better time and made Mac Allister pretty much undroppable. It would have been madness to sanction a sale after Goodison Park.

From that point on, he became one of the first names on the team sheet for both Graham Potter and Roberto De Zerbi. No longer a number 10, Mac Allister could operate equally effectively as a six or eight.

Wherever he is deployed, he makes everything about football look beautiful. The way he weaves and manoeuvres out of impossibly tight situations, like an Argentine version of Harry Houdini.

His passing ability, be it a square ball across his own box or a defence splitting 40 yard through pass with perfect weight and accuracy.

Then there is his eye for the spectacular. That blockbuster free kick in the 5-2 win over Leicester City, coming shortly after VAR had denied him a Goal of the Season contender by finding a ridiculous offside as his volley from 25 yards flew into the back of the Foxes net.

The second goal of his brace at Everton was an equally impressive distance volley. His audacious backheel against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup justified the 628 mile round trip two weeks after Christmas on a day of a nationwide train strike.

Scoring a penalty might be a skill that is taken for granted at other clubs, but not Brighton. The Albion have a long and glorious history of missing from 12 yards, a problem which once caused Gus Poyet He Who Must Not Be Named to hide behind the dugout at Withdean so he did not have to watch his side squander another spot kick.

Mac Allister has almost – almost – banished that collective fear felt whenever a referee points to the spot. Eight of his 16 Premier League goals for the Albion have come via penalties, including two under the most intense pressure imaginable.

Converting in injury time to rescue a 3-3 draw in a crucial home game against Brentford is one thing. To then repeat the trick in the 98th minute for a 1-0 win over Manchester United is something else altogether.

Whilst his football skills put him amongst the very best to ever play for the Albion, he has grown to become an equally impressive figure off the pitch.

Alexis Mac Allister was the first player to arrive at Brighton direct from South America. He paved the way for Moises Caicedo, Julio Enciso and Facundo Buonanotte to follow.

The young group from that continent now at the Albion all look up to Mac Allister. He has played a seriously underrated role in helping them settle into a strange country, without which they would probably not have made such a quick impact in English football.

Another favourite Mac Allister memory is the way he translated for Enciso when the Paraguayan was being interviewed after scoring his first Brighton goal in the 2-0 win at Plucky Little Bournemouth.

Joy and happiness was radiating from Mac Allister at his young teammate’s achievement. With such leadership skills, Mac Allister would surely have gone onto captain Brighton one day had he not been lured by Liverpool.

He may well skipper the Reds in future and who knows, Argentina, in several years time. Could he follow in the footsteps of Messi and one day lead his nation to another World Cup? Stranger things have happened.

Ah yes, Argentina. No discussion of Mac Allister’s impact at the Amex can be had without mentioning his exploits in Qatar for La Albiceleste.

In helping Messi get his hands on the one trophy which eluded him through his glittering career and ending Argentina’s 36 year wait to be crowned world champions again, Mac Allister became the first Brighton player ever to win a World Cup.

1.5 billion people around the globe tuned into watch Argentina against France, meaning 1.5 billion people around the globe heard the words “Brighton & Hove Albion” mentioned alongside Mac Allister. The Albion’s number 10 had put our club on the map like never before.

There was a huge sense of pride amongst Brighton fans in Mac Allister for his achievements at the World Cup. He returned to a heroes welcome at the training ground and then in his first appearance back at the Amex after returning from Qatar.

That sense of pride was seemingly mutual. Mac Allister has often talked about how honoured he is to have a place in the Albion history books no-one can take away.

Despite all his success, Mac Allister has remained the same humble and grounded bloke he arrived in England as. Those young Brighton supporters who he let hold his World Cup medal when stopping for a chat through his car window will never, ever forget that moment.

Such a simple gesture but one not many professional footballers would take the time or effort to make. Likewise, when he rocked up to his favourite Argentine restaurant to show the staff his gold.

Brighton fans have taken Alexis Mac Allister to their hearts and judging by his tears after his final appearance in an Albion shirt at Aston Villa, he feels the same way.

It has been an honour to watch his journey so far, from that 21-year-old without a work permit to our World Cup winner destined for even greater things in the future.

Liverpool have signed a superb player and an even better man. One who departs amongst the most popular and best to ever pull on the stripes.

Muchas gracias, Alexis.