How Alvaro Arbeloa Is Fixing What Xabi Alonso Left Behind at Real Madrid

The former Real Madrid Castilla boss is taking notes from Carlo Ancelotti’s time at the Bernabéu.

Álvaro Arbeloa took over Real Madrid from Xabi Alonso. | Alberto Gardin/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Álvaro Arbeloa stepped into arguably the toughest job in football with the pressure of not only getting Real Madrid back on track, but also rectifying the mistakes of the short-lived Xabi Alonso era.

The former Bayer Leverkusen boss only fulfilled seven months of his three-year contract with Los Blancos, losing his job less than 24 hours after Real Madrid suffered a 3–2 defeat to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final.

The result might have sealed Alonso’s fate, but head-scratching tactical decisions, a public falling out with Vinicius Junior and an inability to infuse a true identity into his team turned one of the most exciting young managers in the sport into little more than a headline splashed across Spanish newspapers.

Just how much blame truly belongs to Alonso for Real Madrid’s floundering state remains up for debate, but what does not is the daunting task left behind to his successor Arbeloa, who now inherited a jaded dressing room under pressure to win titles without any true direction as to how.

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Arbeloa Fails His First Test

Álvaro Arbeola lost his first game in charge of Real Madrid. | Alvaro Medranda/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

Without any experience managing a top-flight team, Arbeloa took over the biggest club in the world and got his reign off to a humiliating start just two days later. Real Madrid suffered a shock 3–2 defeat to second-tier side Albacete, ending their Copa del Rey campaign in the round of 16.

It didn’t matter that many of his best players were left back in Madrid for the clash; if Arbeloa could not lead an XI consisting of Vinicius Junior, Federico Valverde, Arda Güler and Gonzalo García to victory against a La Liga 2 club, then the future of Real Madrid was in true danger.

17th-placed second-tier side Albacete Balompié knock Real Madrid out of the Copa del Rey in Álvaro Arbeloa’s first game. pic.twitter.com/QPYKyCsHLc

— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) January 14, 2026

Yet despite what transpired on the pitch, the new boss impressed in his post game presser, shouldering all the blame for the loss and refusing to throw his underperforming players into the line of fire. The former Real Madrid Castilla boss was Carlo Ancelotti-esque at the microphone, backing his team with full confidence, his loudest praise for Vinicius Jr.

“He was willing to help the team and to put it on his back, to run around and never hide,” Arbeloa said. “That's the Vini Jr. I want to see, who dares, who takes responsibility and who is unbalanced.

“He'll have more sparkling days and others less so, but I've seen that he's committed and that he's a captain. I'm convinced that he's going to give us great nights and that if Real Madrid want to win trophies we need the best version of him.”

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Arbeloa Declares His Loyalty to Real Madrid’s No. 7

Vinicius Junior (left) and Álavaro Arbeloa are on the same page. | Alberto Gardin/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

Less than four weeks before Arbeloa’s comments, Alonso found himself in a similar position, asked about Vinicius Jr’s struggles on the pitch, which resulted in whistles from Los Blancos’ home crowd. The former Spain international simply said the fans had a “right to express their opinion.”

It was no secret Alonso and Vinicius Jr had a fractured relationship. The Brazil international stormed off the pitch and down the tunnel when he was replaced in the first El Clásico of the season, left Alonso out of his public apology for the incident and stayed quiet—unlike his teammates—when the club cut ties with the Spaniard.

Vinicius Jr was not happy about being substituted during El Clasico...

The Brazilian stormed down the tunnel after being taken off by Xabi Alonso. pic.twitter.com/S58bwxiVZO

— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) October 26, 2025

In fact, reports even claimed Vinicius Jr halted his contract negotiations with Real Madrid due to his poor standing with Alonso, who only kept the winger on the pitch for 90 minutes in nine games during his time on the touchline.

Having one of the faces of the club in a constant back-and-forth with the manager was unproductive for all parties involved, and Arbeloa made sure to nurture a positive relationship with the No. 7 from the start of his tenure, calling Vinicius Jr “one of the most exciting players in the world” in his first press conference.

The support spewing from Arbeloa already has the Brazilian winger rediscovering his form. Vinicius Jr created three goals against Monaco and scored a spectacular one of his own in the club’s 6–1 rout against the Ligue 1 side. Beaming with a smile, the 25-year-old ran to the touchline to hug his new manager after he got on the scoresheet.

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Arbeloa Throws Alonso’s Playbook Out the Window

Kylian Mbappé (right) has scored three goals in two matches under Álvaro Arbeloa. | Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Another recurring problem of the Alonso era at Real Madrid was the manager’s bizarre tactics. The former Liverpool icon was never afraid to experiment with formations and rotate his players, much to his own detriment.

Between giving the nod to Vinicius Jr on the right wing against Paris Saint-Germain and then benching the forward for the team’s first Champions League clash to deploying Fran García in the left midfield against Elche, Alonso made unnecessary and largely unsuccessful waves at the Bernabéu.

The former boss even defended with a back five in the Spanish Super Cup final, a system that was likely never going to be successful given two of the defenders were natural midfielders, going up against the likes of Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha.

Arbeloa, though, has made it a point to step away from Alonso’s tactics and instead let his game-changing stars play with freedom, once again taking a page out of Ancelotti’s book. “We want to see a Madrid, beyond tactical ideas and football systems or organization,” Arbeloa preached.

The best example of what the team could look like under his leadership came against Monaco. Mbappé, Vinicius Jr, Jude Bellingham and Franco Mastantuono all got on the scoresheet, Güler and Valverde combined for three assists and Aurélien Tchouaméni misplaced just two passes in 90 minutes.

There will be tougher opponents in the future, but Arbeloa is already showing that less tactics and more freedom gives his squad the green light to play without restraints and as a cohesive unit.

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Real Madrid Are Slowly Forging a New Identity

Kylian Mbappé (left) and Vinicius Junior were unstoppable against Monaco. | Alberto Gardin/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

Another glaring problem Real Madrid faced under Alonso was their whimpering identity. The team lacked desire and cohesion, often times looking like they were just going through the motions even in the biggest of matches.

Even when they were winning games, they were not meeting the standards or expectations of the badge. There was no flare on the pitch, no passion bleeding through the demeanors or the play of Los Blancos, so much so that the home crowd booed their own players off the pitch on mutliple occasions.

Even under Arbeloa, the team was heavily whistled in the first 45 minutes against Levante last weekend. Yet a brilliant second half showed glimpses of a new identity forming, one that the former Real Madrid Castilla boss is instilling above all else.

Real Madrid must translate their recent momentum to La Liga. | Federico Titone/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

“[Character and mentality] can never be missing and represent what Real Madrid is all about,” Arbeloa said. “That mentality, that ambition, that desire, that passion, all together as one, togetherness. Those values are ours. They are what must represent us and what we must never abandon. After that will come all the footballing ideas.”

The team is no doubt still a work in progress, and Arbeloa cannot magically fix some of the more systemic issues plaguing Real Madrid right away. But the Spaniard already looks like a better fit for what the club demands: a manager, not a coach.

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