Xabi Alonso and his brother Mikel had never faced each other before Saturday's clash between Real Madrid and Tenerife, in which Los Merengues ran out as comfortable 3-0 winners.
After the game, the genial and friendly Mikel, who speaks excellent English after his season stunt with Bolton Wanderers, spoke at length about his brother.
"Yes, this is actually the first time we have faced each other. We met in the Premier League, when I was at Bolton and he was with Liverpool, but we didn't meet on the pitch. So yes this is the first time," he tells Goal.com.
"Of course when we were kids we were playing one against the other all the time. But professionally this is a first and it's been a great day for me, my brother and our family."
Mikel is clearly proud that a member of the Alonso family is representing the mighty Real Madrid.
"It was a thrilling, and exciting experience I mean to meet with your brother on the field at the Bernabeu Stadium with a team like Real Madrid is just simply beautiful," he says.
The brothers are very close - only a couple of years separate them - and Mikel admits that Xabi talked to him extensively when he was thinking about leaving Liverpool.
"We talked a lot about it. He made the decision, but you know there were a lot of times it was between Liverpool and Real Madrid because they are very big clubs, but I think my brother is happy now and that's important," he continues.
Mikel echoes what Xabi himself has felt about his time at Merseyside: "He had a lot of success at Liverpool, he had some very beautiful and good years there and I think Liverpool supporters are going to miss him, because he plays a good game and I think he's a very important player for any team that wants to be the best."
But Mikel won't get drawn into whether Liverpool's plans to sell Alonso to Juventus in 2008 played a big part in his leaving the club.
He says: "I think everything becomes important when you make a decision. Maybe because he had already spent four years there and maybe sometimes you need a change. I think I'm not the best person to talk about this stuff, but you know I think he's happy and this is the most important thing."
It is also very clear listening to Mikel speak that Xabi still has a great feeling for the Reds.
"He has a big respect and great memory of Liverpool the stadium, the supporters, everything," he reveals. "He misses that - he does miss that, but life goes ahead and sometimes changes come..."
However, when it is suggested that he is talking as though Xabi regrets making the change, Mikel's reply is emphatic: "Nah nah nah nah! I think he's very happy now. I think he thinks the years in Liverpool were very happy years and he grew as a football player and now he's in another team and has new objectives and goals and now he is happy again."
Back in Spain | Mikel v Madrid
Mikel's own experiences of Premier League football were short lived at Bolton. He became the victim of circumstance and of unfortunate injuries.
"I came there when the manager was Sammy Lee, he trusted me and he signed me. We started the season very badly so they sacked him and also I then started up with injuries, too," he explains.
"Then there was a change of manager and everything came together. I played the first games of the season. But the second part of the season I played no games and so I came back to Spain."
Mikel is pleased to have had the chance to experience the English game, but now has his mind firmly focused on Tenerife.
Having helped the team gain promotion last term, the priority for the Canary Island club is to make sure that they can become a permanent fixture in top-flight football for years to come.
To that end, Mikel will be glad that he only has to face his brother just once more in the league this season.
