Alonso’s In-Game Management Coming Under Scrutiny

All things considered, it has been a mixed start to the Xabi Alonso era for Real Madrid. After reaching the FIFA Club World Cup semifinals in their first month under the Basque manager, Real won seven matches in a row before falling to a 5-2 demolition at Atlético Madrid. Los Blancos quickly bounced back with six straight victories, including a 2-1 win against defending LaLiga champions Barcelona, before succumbing to a 1-0 defeat at Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League. And on Sunday, Real were held to a goalless draw at Rayo Vallecano, marking the first time that they have gone two games without victory in seven months, as well as their first stalemate since Alonso’s debut match in charge – a 1-1 draw to Al-Hilal in Miami.

Apart from that draw to Al-Hilal, Real have failed to win just four times under Alonso, including three defeats to European heavyweights in Atleti, PSG, and Liverpool, but it’s fair to say that Sunday’s result was the most damning of the bunch. Even with Rayo having extra rest, and even with Rayo coming off an impressive run of form that has seen them win three of their last four, there is simply no excuse for what we saw on Sunday in Vallecas.

Rayo were ripe for the taking and committed a number of perplexing individual errors that should have yielded an early advantage for the visitors. Real continued to pile up the pressure and win back possession in the final third, but they were never quite able to take advantage due to lackadaisical set-piece deliveries, errant finishing, poorly timed through balls, and a number of other factors. Los Blancos looked set to take the lead in the 22nd minute as Kylian Mbappé’s cross found its way to Vinícius Júnior, whose shot sputtered off the ground and was swatted away by Augusto Batalla. Just a few seconds later, Brahim Díaz swung in a tempting cross for an unmarked Raúl Asencio, whose header sailed wide. However, Rayo created as much attacking peril as Real, producing more big chances (2) than Real and more xG (1.2) than Real (0.98).

It’s undeniable that Alonso’s tactical decisions contributed in Real’s underwhelming display, be that starting Díaz on the right side of attack ahead of Rodrygo, or shoehorning Arda Güler into the unnatural double pivot role alongside Eduardo Camavinga. And whilst he corrected one of his errors by subbing on Éder Militão for the reckless Dean Huijsen at halftime, it took him another 25 minutes before making his next sub, with Dani Ceballos replacing Díaz. Eight minutes later, Alonso finally brought on Rodrygo for Camavinga, before deciding to bring on a natural right back in Trent Alexander-Arnold. Nevertheless, it was too little too late as Rayo held on for a famous stalemate, and it was yet another result that left many Madridistas wondering if Alonso really is ready to manage one of the biggest franchises in football.

“Real Madrid is always a challenge to manage because it’s not just the result that counts,” stated ESPN Brasil’s Leonardo Bertozzi. “You have to win and play well as well as manage a dressing room full of superstar egos, which isn’t easy for anyone…the managers that have been the most successful at Real are the ones who’ve managed to do all of that. There have been coaches like Fabio Capello who have achieved good results but didn’t deliver good performances on the pitch or couldn’t control the locker room, and as a result, didn’t end up staying for a long time. He won a lot at Real, but his team’s performances weren’t that aesthetically pleasing, and his treatment of Real’s stars wasn’t that pleasant.”

“There’s been a lot of talk here in Brazil about Alonso’s squad management, especially with Vinícius, who was incredibly upset when he was subbed off in last week’s win vs. Barcelona, and whilst he apologized, he didn’t directly mention Alonso, only apologizing to his teammates and other staff members. Alonso took charge of a locker room that was very accustomed to Carlo Ancelotti’s more relaxed style of management in contrast to Alonso’s more demanding methods. He’ll have to learn to be more flexible with the locker room because it’s a team that revolves around one player – Mbappé – with Vinícius going from the protagonist to a supporting role. That’s the main question for me: How will a rigorous disciplinarian like Alonso deal with so many big egos in the locker room?”

Prior to Real Madrid, Alonso’s sole job in senior management came with a Bayer Leverkusen that was heavily predicated upon hungry, young talents like Jeremie Frimpong, Exequiel Palacios and Florian Wirtz as well as sturdy, reliable veteran leaders like Granit Xhaka, Jonathan Tah, and Alejandro Grimaldo. It’s a vastly different scenario dealing with a team composed of superstar talents who have won the biggest trophies in the sport and are already well-established and are bringing in millions of euros each month.

Los Blancos find themselves in seventh place in the UEFA Champions League with nine points from four games — three points off league leaders Bayern Munich, whilst they also sit atop the LaLiga table, three points above Barcelona. All things considered, it’s far from a crisis for Alonso, but it also isn’t quite a seamless honeymoon period either. And apart from their recent Clásico win, it’s fair to say that Real have had far more crushing defeats than inspiring wins against top-tier opposition.

Florentino Pérez has emerged as one of the best executives in world football alongside the likes of Giuseppe Marotta, Sergey Palkin, Andrea Berta and Max Eberl thanks to his superb selection of managers, amongst other reasons. From Carlo Ancelotti to Zinedine Zidane, from José Mourinho to Vicente del Bosque, we’ve seen a number of coaches enjoy success thanks to their ability to check all boxes from stroking their superstars’ egos to yielding impressive attacking football to winning against the best teams on the continent to getting the most out of the entire squad and making the right substitutions in order to get the team over the line. So far, Alonso is struggling to tick these boxes, namely the latter two, and if he can’t find a way to right those wrongs, then Pérez will have to start wondering about whether or not Alonso is ready to manage a club of Real’s caliber.

Alonso will be looking to turn around Real’s woeful start to the month when Los Blancos return from the final international break of 2025 and travel to Elche on November 23, followed by visits to Olympiacos, Girona, and Athletic Club and home matches vs. Celta de Vigo and Manchester City.

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