Xabi Alonso plays a life-or-death game with PSG

Xabi Alonso is about to face a challenge with Real Madrid.

But before the ball rolls, coach Xabi Alonso faces another battle. That is to line up his team. And this is not just a tactical problem, but also a test of balance, of identity - and of courage.

Waiting for Xabi Alonso to solve the problem

Since taking over Real, Alonso has had to adapt constantly: without Kylian Mbappe in the early stages, rotating the squad with new players, rebuilding the playing style without breaking the club's DNA. But it was in the difficulties that he found unexpected pieces: Gonzalo Garcia - a young star exploding in attack; Arda Guler - from potential to conductor; and Fran Garcia - a strange bird flying high on the left wing.

However, the match against PSG will be the biggest test since Alonso took the hot seat at the Bernabeu. A match where just one wrong move can cause everything he is building to collapse.

The first problem comes from... Dean Huijsen. The red card in the previous match left Real's defense without a familiar cog. This forced Alonso to make a choice: either pull Tchouameni back to play as a central defender - a solution that had been tried with relative effectiveness - or send Asencio in to replace Huijsen in a "man-for-man" way.

Both are viable options, but neither is perfect. If Tchouameni is brought back, Real’s midfield will be noticeably thinner – a big risk when facing PSG’s attack. If the core is kept intact, Asencio is clearly not an option that fans can trust.

In midfield, Alonso seems to have settled on three names: Bellingham, Valverde and Guler - a trio that brings energy, creativity and even dynamism. Guler in particular is playing the role of a “new type of No. 10”, a no-frills but extremely effective conductor.

Will Xabi Alonso continue to trust young striker Gonzalo Garcia?

The real headache lies in attack. Gonzalo is in a state of ecstasy: 4 goals, 1 assist in 5 games. That form should have secured him a starting spot. But the return of Mbappe changes the whole picture. Add in Vinicius, who is almost certain to play, and Alonso will be forced to choose: put your faith in a proven machine - or risk keeping the new brainchild?

If Vinicius and Mbappe are chosen as the strikers in a 5-3-2 formation, Gonzalo will have to sit on the bench. If Alonso still wants to keep this young striker, he will have to move his student to the right wing - a position that is not unfamiliar to Gonzalo but certainly not his forte. Meanwhile, Tchouameni will once again be pushed deeper, forming a three-man defense with Rudiger and Asencio.

When Real Madrid had to climb a mountain

The problem is that PSG are not the opponents to test. This is an all-round attacking machine - fast, technical, and extremely good at exploiting mistakes.

So the defensive option - solid midfield, keeping Vinicius and Mbappe up front - is the "safe" choice. But that means Alonso will be leaving out Gonzalo - the biggest inspiration he created on the journey to the semi-finals.

In a tournament that is not long, every decision is like a life-or-death game. Xabi Alonso knows that well. But while many coaches choose to consolidate to survive, the former Bayer Leverkusen captain is at a crossroads: proceed with caution, or enter the crucial match with a certain amount of courage - and a certain amount of faith in what he has built.

If he beats PSG, Xabi Alonso will score points in the eyes of Real Madrid fans.

Four options are presented to him. Each one is a trade-off. And perhaps the hardest thing for a young coach is not figuring out the formation - it's knowing what to keep, what to let go, and who to bet on.

PSG may be the highest mountain Alonso has climbed to date. But if he can climb it, he will be one step closer to being a “great manager”. And that game – win or lose – will say a lot about the version of Real Madrid that Xabi Alonso is creating.