Xabi Alonso has suffered his first setback as coach of Real Madrid. The team’s poor season led the club to decide that it was the end of the Ancelotti era, and they always had a clear idea of who would replace him. The club has always been fully committed to the Tolosa native, and although there was speculation about whether he would wait until after the World Cup, the coach wanted to take on the challenge and start working with the team right away. In the tournament, there have been more positives than negatives, and the negatives have not been entirely his fault. His signing was a clear success and one of the good things to come out of the World Cup.
A change in the way things are done
From his first day at Valdebebas training the team, it was clear that things were going to be done differently. The coach demands effort and commitment, and from the first day of training, the physical work has been more intense. He demands an effort from his players that they did not have to make during Carlo Ancelotti’s time. There is a lot of ball play, but there is also a lot of tactical exercise, a lot of movement without the ball, and you have to be active and alert at all times. He leads by example, showing himself to be very involved.
There has also been a change, or so it seemed, in the area of meritocracy. Xabi Alonso said from the moment he arrived that he didn’t care about names and individualities and that what he wanted was to build a team and for everyone to contribute to the team. However, although he has applied this in part, when it comes down to it, he has lacked the courage to bench a player like Vinicius, who did not have a good World Cup, or to not give Mbappé a starting spot against PSG if he was not ready.
The successes of Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid
During the tournament, there have been several green shoots of what Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid could become. One of Xabi Alonso’s most repeated premises since his arrival is that he wants the team to play as a unit where everyone attacks and defends as a team. This has been a difficult task and is not yet fully established, but it is beginning to show in the team’s recent games.
Xabi has successfully tested a new tactical system. The 3-5-2 formation with Rüdiger, Tchouaméni, and Dean Huijsen has paid off in several games, with the French player proving key in defense, although he still has room for improvement, and in attack he is more of a midfielder. What has become clear is that Huijsen is untouchable and indispensable for the coach.
The coach has also stood out for being active and correcting things and positions on the fly, demonstrating a great reading of the game.
In attack, youth player Gonzalo García has stood out and is knocking on the door of the first team. He has scored four goals and provided one assist in six games. We have also begun to see what Arda Güler can be in midfield, but there is still a lot of work to be done and much to improve, as was clear against PSG.
The other side of the team
There is still a lot of work to be done for this team to be at its best and fight for titles. As a first outing and with work still in progress, reaching the semi-finals was not bad at all, but the way they were eliminated has left a bad overall impression. One of the things to improve is not to hesitate when it comes to benching certain players.
In terms of areas for improvement, the team needs to improve the distance between the lines, the pressure as a unit, the commitment of all players in defensive tasks, if they are going to continue with the Vini-Mbappé pairing, they need to learn to play together, rebuild a defense that will be joined by Carerras and where the only clear player is Huijsen, and develop Thouaméni and Arda Güler, who share the same weakness in defense…
There is work to be done and a key decision to be made, which is none other than whether to make do with what they have or go to the transfer market.