Real Madrid's new era starts after a painful 4-0 Club World Cup semi-final defeat to Paris St-Germain, which reset expectations and ended last season in the eyes of manager Xabi Alonso. Evaluation will hinge on how quickly the team improves and adapts to Alonso's ideas. Alonso brings diverse lessons from managers like Clemente, Guardiola, Mourinho and Ancelotti and follows a carefully drawn career plan. Preseason matches suggest a more positional, collective style with a high press intended to protect forwards like Vinicius Jr and Mbappe from constant defensive duties. Contract uncertainty and a dip in form leave Vinicius's future unresolved.
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.
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.
Collection
[
|
...
]