"For 20 minutes of Alvaro Arbeloa's debut as manager of Real Madrid, the fog came down and no one could see any football. For the other 70, they couldn't either. Not from his team, at least. From Albacete Balompie, 17th in the second division, they witnessed something magical. An outrageous goal scored with single second to go was the perfect end to the greatest story they ever told, history made."
"At this club every defeat is a tragedy, so imagine one like this, Arbeloa said. Failure is the road to success, Madrid's new manager added, insisting he was not afraid, that he had suffered eliminations even worse, but this had hurt. It will make us better. I am not afraid of failure. I have failed lots of times in my life, with knockouts more painful than this."
Alvaro Arbeloa made his managerial debut for Real Madrid amid turmoil, with fog briefly obscuring play and his team failing to produce football. Albacete Balompie, 17th in the second division, produced a brilliant performance capped by an outrageous last-second goal that sealed Copa del Rey progression. Madrid retreated defeated, deepening a growing crisis after recent Super Cup loss, Xabi Alonso's sacking, and managerial change. Arbeloa defended his players, accepting the pain but insisting failure will make the team better and that he is not afraid of failure. Albacete's fans celebrated a historic night and a perfect ending to their greatest story.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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