Alexis Mac Allister has gained a lot of fame since his influence over Argentina’s success at the Qatar World Cup and recent move to Liverpool, but not many are aware of his brother Kevin – who is also a professional footballer trying to make his name in Europe.
While the Argentina midfielder pushes to win the Premier League title with Liverpool, his elder brother only recently got his breakthrough to start playing in Europe. Kevin Mac Allister is not similar to his younger sibling at all, and does not play in the same area of the pitch either.
We need to talk about Kevin
Indeed, Kevin is actually a defender who naturally prefers to operate in that centre-back role, even though he’s about an inch shorter than his younger brother.
With that being said, the 25-year-old is actually quite the versatile defender and can also operate in the right-back and left-back areas if needed.
The son of Argentine politician and former footballer Carlos Mac Allister, Kevin started his football journey at a relatively young age at Argentinos Juniors, the same club where Alexis also used to train with him as a child.
Kevin Mac Allister visited the Maradona Academy at our youth training ground. 🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/I3lXzFrn57
— Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (@UnionStGilloise) August 22, 2023
Kevin and Alexis Mac Allister both made their professional debuts with the Argentine side in 2016, even playing together for them for a few years.
The younger brother, however, impressed Premier League scouts and was roped in by Brighton & Hove Albion in 2019 and the rest, as they say, is history.
While his sibling soared in Europe, Kevin kept playing for Argentinos Juniors as recently as earlier this year itself.
He spent seven years at the professional level with the club, making over 100 appearances for them and even spending a very short loan spell at Boca Juniors in 2019.
Kevin Mac Allister’s uprise in prominence
He would, however, be ultimately be able to impress some European scouts earlier this year and was roped in by Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise in July, signing a long-term contract with them.
The 25-year-old has already made his debut for them, playing a full 90 minutes in their recent UEFA Europa League qualifying clash against FC Lugano – whom they defeated 2-0.
Indeed, Mac Allister has helped them keep three clean sheets in five appearances so far – looking pretty impressive at the back. He appears to be impressing a lot more fans since his move to Europe, catching more attention and being praised for his commanding nature at the back.
Kevin Mac Allister looks set to have a big season at Union Saint-Gilloise, really like that back three they are using, can transition effectively with that system. Quite versatile in the defensive areas, can also play at left back but better in the three. He’s a leader as well.
With that being said, some fans just can’t get enough of his name and its similar to the famous character from ‘Home Alone’, that is also named Kevin McAllister.
Even though their surnames are not exactly the same, the name ‘Kevin Mac Allister’ immediately makes a lot of fans think of the menacing kid from the Home Alone series portrayed by Macaulay Culkin.
Kevin Mac Allister actually comes from a family with a very interesting lineage.
Like his brother, he is also of Scottish and Irish descent – with his ancestors having arrived in Argentina from Ireland many years ago and there also being Scottish links to their name. Kevin has both Argentina and Italy’s citizenship, but is yet to make his international debut.
Even though the 25-year-old doesn’t have the fame as his younger sibling, Kevin Mac Allister appears to be thriving in his role as a bit of a late riser.
If able to impress with the Belgian club in the Jupiler Pro League and help them pull out a few surprises in the Europa League this season, then perhaps the Argentine defender can earn a move to the Premier League next year and go up against his brother at the grandest stage of Europe.
