The Spaniard’s adventure lasted 231 days, with the defeat in the Super Cup Clasico against Barcelona fatal. He had taken Ancelotti’s place
Florentino Perez was probably just waiting for the right moment and Real Madrid’s defeat in the Spanish Super Cup against Barcelona was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Xabi Alonso is no longer the manager of Real Madrid. The former Liverpool and Real player who had replaced Carlo Ancelotti on the Blanco bench and who came from his experience at Bayer Leverkusen and the club have parted ways. The Spaniard was unable to manage the difficult legacy of Carlo Ancelotti who achieved success all over the world at the helm of Los Blancos. Xabi Alonso’s adventure at Real Madrid lasted 231 days, from 26 May 2025, the day of his presentation to today. There were 34 matches with 24 wins, 4 draws and 6 defeats. Xabi Alonso seemed like the perfect choice: former player with a Décima Champions victory, start on the bench at Fábrica, the club’s cantera, excellent transition to the second team of Real Sociedad, Bayer Leverkusen’s first Bundesliga triumph. A perfect CV, it seemed like the best possible choice to manage the post-Ancelotti era. But after the dazzling start with 13 wins in 14 games something broke in the Clasico when Vinicius openly contested the substitution and the club did not defend the coach. Then controversies and tensions until the consensual resolution.
It’s Arbeloa’s turn
Florentino Perez chose to bet on Arbeloa, a very risky choice. Here is the club’s statement: . “Real Madrid CF announces that Álvaro Arbeloa is the new coach of the first team. Álvaro Arbeloa has been coach of Castilla since June 2025 and has spent his entire coaching career in nursery of Real Madrid since 2020. He coached the Infantile A team in the 2020-2021 season, winning the championship, the Cadete A team in the 2021-2022 season and the Juvenil A team from 2022 to 2025. As coach of Juvenil A, he won the treble in 2022-2023 (Championship, King’s Cup and Champions Cup) and the Championship in the 2024-2025 season. As a player, Álvaro Arbeloa was part of Real Madrid in one of the most successful periods in its history. He defended our shirt between 2009 and 2016, in 238 official matches. During that period he won 8 titles: 2 European Cups, 1 Club World Cup, 1 European Super Cup, 1 La Liga, 2 King’s Cups and 1 Spanish Super Cup. With the Spanish national team, Álvaro Arbeloa was also part of ahistorical erawinning i 2010 World Cup in South Africa and 2 European Championships (2008 and 2012). He made 56 appearances for the national team.
