Alonso's request
Xabi Alonso will make his debut as Real Madrid manager when the royal team face Al Hilal, in the opening match of Group H of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
Excitement filled the club and dressing room after a week of training under his close supervision.
Xabi Alonso has a loyal “companion” in every step at The Gardens - Real Madrid's headquarters in West Palm Beach, about an hour's drive from Hard Rock Stadium: the ball.
In his first days as coach, the ball was always by Alonso's side: sometimes juggling it, sometimes stepping on it lightly, as if it was a moment when he was deep in thought about a tactical plan in his head, while the players were preparing to enter training.
“He has a picture in his head, and he wants all the players to learn how to paint that picture correctly,” a source close to the dressing room revealed.
There was a lot of “intensity” and “tactics” in that “picture”. Alonso controlled everything. He himself went out on the field, arranging each training pole like an official assistant.
If before, under Carlo Ancelotti, son Davide and Francesco Mauri were responsible for most of the organization of training sessions, now it is Xabi Alonso who controls everything.
“Professor” Xabi measures the distance between the posts, aligns the ball and only keeps quiet when assistant Sebas Parrilla explains the exercise. After that, the whole instruction belongs to him.
It was Xabi who made the first pass in rondo drills (“ghost kicking”, as it is called in Vietnam), who returned the ball to the players in team coordination drills, and who played the role of passing the ball when initiating attacking situations.
Alonso wanted to convince the players directly that they were doing exactly what he expected. “Everyone had to learn to draw exactly what Xabi had in mind.”
The sound at Palm Beach was filled with his intensity. “Quality and speed,” “I want quality, quality,” “go, go, go,” he repeatedly reminded, before joining the players himself in practice.
Even though he retired 8 years ago, he is still able to keep up with his students' passing pace.
Let's rock & roll
This training method is not new, Xabi used it at Sociedad's youth team and then at Bayer Leverkusen, where he turned the team into Bundesliga champions, by closely following each exercise and each movement.
“Xabi is very close and very intense. The fact that he is always with us in training is really helpful,” said Fede Valverde.
A few steps away, new signing Dean Huijsen agreed: “Xabi is a good coach and very demanding.” The message echoed throughout the dressing room.
“He creates excitement, wants the team to play according to their tactical plans,” said Dani Ceballos. He revealed Modric’s comment when he heard about Alonso’s arrival: “Luka said that when we played together, Xabi was very upset about the tactical position.”
At the Four Seasons Palm Beach hotel, where Real Madrid is based, the atmosphere was festive.
A member confidently spoke to El Mundo: “We saw Xabi sitting on fire, eagerly waiting for his debut match.
Xabi shared very frankly: at first he was hesitant but now he feels very ready and determined. That gives us a lot of excitement. I am sure when La Liga starts, the team will operate smoothly" .
Brahim Diaz, who is close to renewing his contract, also voiced his thoughts: “The training sessions are extremely intense,” he added. “Despite his young age, he has a lot of coaching experience.”
In his first press conference as Real Madrid coach, Alonso explained what he was pursuing. “There will certainly be imperfections in the debut, but don’t be discouraged.
We have to focus on positional distance, when we keep better distance both with and without the ball, the team will be more stable and everything will be fine. I want the team to play shorter, that has been emphasised in training sessions.”
Real Madrid's obstacle is the weather conditions. Humidity in Florida at match time is expected to reach 74%, temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius, and there may be a tropical storm.
Despite that, Xabi Alonso confidently started rock & roll with Real Madrid.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/real-madrid-vs-al-hilal-nhay-rock-roll-voi-xabi-alonso-2412608.html
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