Xabi Alonso Resigns as Real Madrid Manager: Arbeloa Steps In

Following the defeat against rivals F.C. Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup Final, Xabi Alonso has left his position as the Head Coach of Real Madrid.

Alonso, 44, departs after only eight months in charge, making his stint the 8th shortest during the Florentino Perez era. The Spanish side reports that Alonso left by ‘mutual consent’, swiftly announcing the appointment of former right-back Alvaro Arbeloa afterwards.

Madrid’s statement continued:

Our club thanks Alonso and his entire technical team for their work and dedication during this time and wishes them the best of luck in this new stage of their lives

While it is true that Alonso’s position had been under scrutiny for several months, the resignation appears somewhat premature, especially as the 15-time UCL winners had a solid start to the season, winning El Clásico at the Santiago Bernabéu earlier in the campaign and sitting 7th in the Champions League table. The ex-midfielder also holds the highest win percentage among Real Madrid managers in the past decade, beating out the likes of Ancelotti and Zidane to stand at an impressive 71%. However, the club, at the time of his departure, sat four points off the top of the La Liga standings, and following a loss against Celta Vigo and a subsequent booing of his players, the club hierarchy entered an emergency meeting to discuss his future. Moreover, it seemed that the ex-Bayer Leverkusen coach lost the dressing room, with reports surfacing that stars such as Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham, and vice-captain Federico Valverde were not confident in Xabi’s managerial ideas.

Questions have been raised over whether Alonso was really the problem

Post-game videos also showed striker Kylian Mbappe seemingly overruling Alonso’s orders by calling back his team-mates when the coach instructed his players to form a guard for the Barcelona players after the Super Cup Final. However, the Frenchman did acknowledge the ex-midfielder’s contribution in an Instagram story, stating:

“It’s been short, but it was a pleasure to play for you & learn from you. Thank you for giving me the confidence since day one. I will remember you as a manager who had clear ideas and knows many things about football. Best of luck for your next chapter.”

Replacement Álvaro Arbeloa, who has coached the club’s youth side since 2020, enters his first role as the manager of a senior squad but is already off to a rough start, suffering a disastrous 3-2 loss against 2nd division side, Albacete, in the Copa Del Rey, knocking them out of the competition.

Although the newly appointed coach took responsibility and described the exit as painful, questions have been raised over whether Alonso was really the problem. However, Arbeloa, who won a World Cup with Spain and two Champions League titles with Real Madrid, says that he sees this as a learning process, but admits that the club has to improve physically on his road to success.