Actual Madrid vs Barcelona is all the time an enormous tie – however Sunday’s assembly was particularly huge for Xabi Alonso.
Final month’s 5-2 defeat by Atletico Madrid noticed sharp criticism concentrate on the supervisor. It was a massively embarrassing loss, and fully derailed the optimistic temper round his begin on the Bernabeu.
It additionally gave new life to considerations in regards to the staff’s potential to compete in huge video games, considerations that first surfaced following the 4-0 defeat by Paris Saint-Germain on the Membership World Cup.
Though they’d gained each different recreation this season aside from that Atleti fixture, Alonso and his employees felt one other slip-up would elevate the stakes.
That they had the impression that if they didn’t ship good ends in a key run of video games towards Juventus, Barcelona and Liverpool, they’d be proven a yellow card by the membership.
They beat Juve 1-0 final Wednesday, and Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Barca means Madrid now lead the defending champions by 5 factors in LaLiga. They journey to Liverpool within the Champions League on Tuesday having gained three from three within the competitors.
The Clasico victory, above all, was a massively vital one for Alonso and his new teaching staff, because it takes a number of the stress off from above – at a membership the place expectations are all the time sky excessive, it doesn’t matter what.
However it additionally represented a giant win on one other entrance: the connection along with his gamers.
In latest weeks, tensions between Alonso and a number of the Madrid squad have been rising – with a number of first-team gamers sad along with his administration and the way in which he has imposed a number of vital modifications since arriving in the summertime. The state of affairs goes far deeper than Vinicius Junior’s outburst over being substituted towards Barca.
Right here, The Athletic explains what’s going on, in an article knowledgeable by many conversations with sources near the primary staff, the teaching employees and the Madrid hierarchy, every talking anonymously to guard relationships.
When Alonso arrived as Actual Madrid supervisor in June, he discovered a dressing room accustomed to issues that he didn’t imagine have been greatest for a soccer staff, following 4 years below Carlo Ancelotti. Sources near Alonso’s employees mentioned “many bad habits” had taken maintain.
One of many first messages to his Madrid gamers was that, with him, everybody must run tougher and work tougher when the opposition was in possession, and, with out that, no-one can be assured a spot.
Alonso’s first matches in cost have been on the Membership World Cup, which for Madrid led to that 4-0 defeat by PSG within the semi-finals on July 9. The staff then had a break till August 4, after they reported again for pre-season coaching. An vital assembly was held when the staff re-grouped.
Alonso spoke with senior gamers, together with the staff’s captains, to determine a brand new algorithm that will govern the dressing room. As soon as the principle features have been agreed collectively, they have been communicated to the complete staff. Amongst different issues, the principles careworn the significance of punctuality (thus far, there have been no fines for being late), in addition to depth and dedication in coaching.
“Xabi has tried to guarantee more discipline and order in the day-to-day, with control of schedules, more work in the gym at the prevention level, and group and individual video sessions,” added a supply concerned within the day-to-day at Madrid’s coaching floor.
The modifications haven’t been welcomed by everybody. A number of sources near first-team gamers advised The Athletic {that a} feeling of frustration has taken maintain within the Madrid dressing room, with many senior figures feeling disrespected and dissatisfied.
A number of such sources mentioned gamers have been upset to seek out they now had little freedom to specific their qualities on the pitch, contrasting Alonso’s extra demanding and inflexible method to the staff’s model with how issues have been below Ancelotti.
“Some of them have won so much without doing these things that when these have been imposed on them, they have complained,” one of many sources mentioned. “It’s no secret, some cases have been public. It’s normal, especially with those who were untouchable.”
One other individual near a first-team participant mentioned Madrid had “gone from having a coach who was hardly involved in training sessions to one who seems like just another player”.
And additional sources consulted for this text mentioned the gamers’ impression of Alonso was that he was distant and unapproachable – once more contrasting with Ancelotti, who was extremely popular with the group.
“He thinks he’s Pep Guardiola, but for now he’s just Xabi,” mentioned a person near a senior Madrid participant. That comparability with Manchester Metropolis’s supervisor was made by a number of others, too – each positively and negatively.
Vinicius Jr stormed off after being changed on Sunday
Credit score: Alberto Gardin/NurPhoto through Getty Photos
This sense of distance, in comparison with Ancelotti’s time in cost, has additionally been mirrored within the variety of specialists who work with the staff in coaching. One other of the brand new measures adopted by Alonso means solely employees members actually important to periods are allowed to be current.
The identical applies to entry to the dressing room throughout matches. Alonso has reduce down the variety of folks across the group earlier than video games and at half-time, so that there’s a larger sense of privateness and focus. After the ultimate whistle, although, the doorways are open to each member of employees.
In the meantime, members of gamers’ entourages have seen entry to areas of the coaching floor restricted, whereas beforehand it was frequent for members of the family, brokers, and even buddies to be current there.
Alonso and his employees have requested for confidentiality. For the dressing room to be a secure place the place nothing is leaked to the media.
A transparent instance of that is with the line-ups. In latest seasons, it had been frequent for Madrid’s beginning XI to be leaked by the press upfront. This pressured the membership to usually announce their staff greater than two hours earlier than video games.
Alonso examined the staff on this in his first line-up. Earlier than the Membership World Cup opener towards Al Hilal, he advised them the XI upfront, trusting them about leaks. The take a look at was failed, as a result of it grew to become recognized that Gonzalo Garcia would begin.
Now, that not occurs.
Sources near the teaching employees stress that they’ve needed to make a number of modifications to the setup at Madrid as a result of they didn’t imagine situations have been proper for achievement. Alonso’s employees, together with assistant coach Sebastian Parrilla, bodily coach Ismael Camenforte, and analysts Alberto Encinas and Benat Labaien, are extremely rated by the membership.
Camenforte’s methodology, with a previous at Barcelona, has additionally been a shock for the specialists already at Madrid and now adapting to new concepts.
The teaching employees has all the time requested for time. They’re conscious that they’re immersed in a course of that requires persistence for the staff to perform as they’ve deliberate.
Alonso, Parrilla and Encinas on the Membership World Cup
Credit score: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar through Getty Photos
Whereas they’re nonetheless aiming to achieve that time, their lead in LaLiga and their good run within the Champions League strengthens their hand – much more so now after Sunday’s win over Barca.
There are additionally different extra microscopic successes for them to have fun – and never each member of the staff has been upset by this summer time of transition. Alonso’s tactical flexibility and rotations to maintain everybody concerned are among the many traits most praised by different sources near the staff.
His dedication to younger gamers, in distinction to Ancelotti, can be a lot commented on – in reference to new signings Dean Huijsen (20), Alvaro Carreras (22) and Franco Mastantuono (18). Different deserves embody the arrogance and step ahead proven by Arda Guler (20), who’s now an everyday starter, and the sensible type of Kylian Mbappe, whose debut season had brought on some inner concern however this time period has 18 objective contributions in 13 video games.
If outcomes and performances proceed to enhance, the impression we have now of Alonso as a Madrid supervisor suggests he’ll care little if there are moments of disharmony inside the group alongside the way in which.
However he will probably be greater than conscious that on the Bernabeu there may be all the time stress, and because the season progresses, his relationship with the gamers will proceed to supply an interesting sub-plot to that.
Extra reporting: Guillermo Rai.
This text initially appeared in The Athletic.
