Defender Kevin Mac Allister discusses family reunions at Anfield, his brother’s World Cup success, and being named after Home Alone.
Santa Rosa is most known for its football clubs: Belgrano, Club Atletico Santa Rosa, and Club Atletico All Boys.
In 1998, La Stampa province founded a fourth team with the name Deportivo Mac Allister, which has significant value across the country.
On Thursday night, its founder, former Argentina international Carlos Mac Allister, will trade his four hectares of football grounds for Anfield’s stands. Liverpool’s first home Europa League match in six years will include Alexis and Kevin, his sons.
A curious coincidence or an inevitability for a family with six professional footballers?
“We had football in our blood,” adds Kevin. The defender is having his only interview before facing his brother tomorrow in a family milestone. However, pitching Alexis is a childhood memory.
He says, “The matches between us were a big battle.” As the oldest brother, Francis, 27, plays for Rosario Central and was initially the best.
I think Alexis is the finest after that. But we sometimes had blood on ourselves or head injuries after matches since we played fiercely like Argentinian players.”
You may not have seen the Liverpool midfielder’s rapid rise from Argentinos Juniors, which produced Diego Maradona and Sergio Batista.
Kevin calls Juniors “a little factory of talent” back home, but Alexis was practically unknown in England when he joined Brighton. After leaving the Amex, he won the World Cup.
Kevin cried in the Qatar final crowd and got a tattoo of Alexis holding the World Cup trophy.
He explains, “I saw my brother as a world champion and that is the best gift to a football loving family. They are “a family of football,” with his father a Maradona teammate and friend and his brother playing with Lionel Messi.
Kevin says, “These moments are crazy and we try to enjoy all these moments.” “It is hard because in football you always want more.”
He wanted more for himself, too—he had dreamed of moving to Europe for two years before getting his chance in Belgium, where Union is #1.
There’s no indication that this Mac Allister is gone. Does the name ring familiar?
“I can’t understand why my name is the same as a character in Home Alone,” he chuckles, before confirming the rumors. He discovered at 18 that his mother had named him after the 1990 Christmas film’s Macaulay Culkin.
These siblings are closer, so it’s impossible to imagine one neglecting another on a plane. Kevin calls Alexis “a special player” who “improved a lot” in Juniors, becoming Maradona.
“The first step in the first team was difficult because Argentina plays aggressive football and all matches are battles. He progressed and became a top Argentino.
“He started his career in Argentinos as a No. 10 who moved forward, passed forward, assisted, and scored. Now he plays with the number 10 on his back. He plays like a No. 5, more defensively, which is remarkable. However, Alexis played as a small No 10 and this number is unique in Argentina.”
While highly competitive on the field, the Mac Allisters seem unshakeably supportive of each other’s successes off it. Carlos, their father, may want a draw Thursday night.
Mac Allister Senior watched the Europa League final on two computer screens, one for each son. “It will be difficult because maybe one of his two sons will lose,” Kevin says.
But he’s trying to love football and our family. My older brother Francis will watch the sport on TV.”
A family reunion was always possible, but the pilot announced: “It’s Liverpool in the group stage.” on a Union team trip. Alexis called immediately after landing. “He couldn’t believe it”.
“I feel really emotional,” Kevin admits.
“Playing against my brother in Anfield against big players and a big team is really special for me and my family.”
It will be his second time seeing his brother play for his new team. In August, he traveled the Eurostar to England and watched Liverpool draw 1-1 with Chelsea on Mac Allister’s debut in the Stamford Bridge stands unseen. His brother has seen him play everywhere from street corners to World Cup finals, yet he is unusually calm about it. “Alexis always stays calm, so I stay calm when I watch him play.”
One reason they appreciate football so much is that they didn’t forcefully parent like other successful sports families. “We never felt pressure from our dad or my mum or my family to play football,” Mac Allister says.
“They only wanted us to enjoy football, enjoy the games, and improve at sport.”
Today, Carlos is “crazy about football”. Kevin watched Liverpool’s play against Tottenham, focused on Alexis’ placement, when he last saw his father. He quips, “Sometimes we are at the dinner table and try to speak about other things.” “He suggests that if Luis Diaz plays to the left, you should stand up like this…”
Even from such a family, the duo likely wouldn’t play at Anfield. Kevin calls it “crazy”.
“It is unusual for this to happen on a European stage.”
Not unheard of. Phil and Gary Neville participated multiple times, and the half-brothers Kevin-Prince Boateng and Jerome Boateng from Ghana and Germany competed against each other.
If Union defeated Liverpool, might a second Mac Allister play in England? Though he stopped attending classes in 2019, he speaks the language: “I do not think my English is bad?”
It may be difficult to beat Liverpool, but the Mac Allisters’ reunion shows that dreams can come true. Kevin says, “It’s football,” with the family’s confidence. “Anything can happen.”