Xabi Alonso's biggest challenge at Real Madrid

Xabi Alonso is facing many challenges at Real Madrid.

Xabi Alonso's dream of managing Real Madrid is off to a rocky start. The team is winning, but not convincingly. The Bernabeu fans aren't entirely convinced. Without Kylian Mbappe's consistent goal-scoring ability, the winter picture in Madrid could have been much bleaker.

In the DAZN documentary Xabi Alonso The Architect , Cesc Fabregas offered a candid assessment. According to coach Como, Xabi's biggest problem wasn't on the tactical board, but in the dressing room. There, everyone was good, everyone thought they deserved to be in the starting lineup, everyone had a high transfer value, and everyone was a national team player.

That observation hits the very core of the current Real Madrid team. This isn't a team built around a stable group of key players. It's a collection of big personalities, stars accustomed to being prioritized. When everyone believes they must be the center of attention, creating balance becomes an almost impossible task.

Xabi Alonso arrived at the Bernabeu with a strong personal reputation and early success in his coaching career. But Real Madrid is always a different world . Here, winning is a duty, and the emotions of the stars are a constant challenge. Every personnel decision can create repercussions. Every squad rotation is scrutinized.

Xabi Alonso is working hard to prove his worth at Real Madrid.

That dressing room isn't just for Mbappe. It's also for players accustomed to the spotlight, to star status at both club and national team levels. When someone is benched, it's not just their ego that's hurt, but the entire surrounding ecosystem is shaken. The media, agents, and social media all put pressure back on the coaching staff.

Pepe Reina, who played alongside Xabi during Spain's golden generation, saw the difficulty. He emphasized that managing a dressing room like Real Madrid's was never easy. However, Reina also pointed out a key advantage of Xabi: his ability to confront players directly and speak the truth.

That frankness is a double-edged sword. It can build trust with those who understand the situation. But it can also easily hurt sensitive egos. At Real Madrid, not everyone is willing to accept a supporting role, even for a short period.

Xabi Alonso understands the players' psychology and knows how to arrange things.

Former Real Madrid coach Rafa Benítez offered a more optimistic perspective. He believed Xabi had the ability to control the dressing room. This assessment is not unfounded. Xabi was once a great player, having lived in some of the most demanding dressing rooms in Europe. He understood the mentality of a star player, knowing when to be lenient and when to be firm.

The remaining issue is time. Real Madrid rarely have patience, but every successful coach there has had to overcome a period of trial and error. For Xabi Alonso, the challenge wasn't just building a playing style, but convincing each individual that the team mattered more than their own individual status.

At Bernabeu, tactics are only half the job. The other half is the art of managing people. And that is the most difficult challenge awaiting Xabi Alonso.

Source: https://znews.vn/bai-toan-kho-nhat-cua-xabi-alonso-o-real-madrid-post1614017.html