The day has arrived. Real Madrid’s journey in the Club World Cup and Xabi Alonso’s on the bench for the Whites kicks off tonight at 9pm against Al Hilal. It is the first major challenge of a new era in which the main objective is to play good football again and win titles, starting with the FIFA tournament. It is a priority objective, and Florentino has decided to offer a bonus of one million euros to each player if the title is won.
It is a goal for which there has been little time, but a lot of work. Xabi Alonso makes his debut on the Real Madrid bench after just one week of work with the team. It has been a very intense week, as the coach has instilled a rhythm of work marked by intensity and in which he has been recovering players, although some still have a lot of work to do.
“Toni made a great effort, just like now, and he’ll be the first to return, I don’t know if it will be for tomorrow, but at least for the second game. The others will need a little more time, although Cama is improving better than expected,” said the coach at a press conference.
Camavinga taking steps… but not enough
Militão, Rüdiger, Carvajal, and Alaba are already working with the group in part, but as the coach said, only the German center back is ready to be called up. Endrick and Mendy, despite being registered for the Club World Cup, have stayed in Madrid to recover. Camavinga continues his recovery process, but he also combined specific work with moments with the group and touching the ball to speed up his recovery.
These are promising signs, but they hide the reality. According to Arancha Rodríguez, a journalist at Cadena COPE, the Frenchman still has a long way to go before he is fully recovered: “He’s the only one who is going to find it very difficult… although it’s true that many people are confused because they see the images of the club training together, they see him running at the same pace as his teammates, but he still has a long way to go before he can be 100%,” she said.
Camavinga’s injury
Camavinga’s injury, from which he is now recovering, occurred at the end of April in a midweek match against Getafe at the Coliseum. The medical report was quite unfavorable and cast doubt on whether the Frenchman would even be available for the start of the season. The midfielder suffered a complete rupture of his left abductor tendon. His recovery could take between three and five months, but the player is pushing to return sooner, although it may not be enough for him to feature in the World Cup.
Future up in the air
The World Cup was crucial for the coach to assess whether Camavinga can offer the best performance for the team or whether it would be best to find him a new club. Real Madrid are aware that Camavinga has a great future ahead of him, but they could be interested in another type of player, which would open the door for him to leave. However, he would only leave if an offer of over €70 million were to be made. In principle, the idea is not to sell him; first, Xabi wants to get the best out of Camavinga and put him to the test.