For Real Madrid, the real start of this new era came with a painful defeat.
The 4–0 thrashing by Paris St-Germain in the Club World Cup semi-finals has reset the counter to zero. Manager Xabi Alonso insisted that was the end of last season. From here, everything is judged on how quickly the team improves, and how urgently it adapts to its new coach’s ideas.
Seven years after he began coaching pre-teens, Alonso takes charge at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Basque, who played under managers as different as Javier Clemente, Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti, has absorbed lessons from every school of thought.
His career plan was carefully drawn. If things went wrong at Bayer Leverkusen, he would return to Real Sociedad’s first team. If not, then Bayern Munich, Liverpool – a job he still dreams of – or Real Madrid. Now he arrives at the Bernabeu with the chance of a lifetime.
Those who worked with him say that when Alonso speaks, you listen: “He makes you see the game more clearly, as if it slows down.”
Tactically, the Club World Cup offered a preview. Last week’s 4-0 friendly win against Tirol in Austria confirmed it: Madrid will play a more positional game, in line with modern trends, where individuals must sacrifice ego for the collective.
The high press is designed not only to win the ball back but also to shield Vinicius Jr and Mbappe from constant defensive duties. But here lies the big question: for a club that has always glorified individual talent, will the stars accept that the team comes first? And if they don’t, will Alonso dare to bench them?
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