Real Madrid News
La Liga manager defends Xabi Alonso amid growing Real Madrid pressure – ‘I feel sorry’
Pressure is nothing new at Real Madrid, but the intensity of scrutiny surrounding Xabi Alonso in recent weeks has raised eyebrows across Spanish football.
One of the latest voices to speak out in defence of the Madrid coach is Eder Sarabia, the current manager of Elche, who believes the criticism aimed at Alonso has gone far beyond what is fair or justified.
Alonso’s debut season at the Bernabeu has been anything but straightforward. What initially looked like a promising campaign quickly became turbulent.
Real Madrid began the season strongly, winning 10 of their first 11 matches and setting the early pace of the season. However, momentum gradually slipped away.
The league lead was surrendered to Barcelona, and setbacks followed in the UEFA Champions League, fuelling doubts about the direction of the project.
Despite the fact that little has been lost, the environment around Real Madrid leaves no room for patience.
At a club where excellence is the minimum requirement, even victories can feel hollow if performances do not meet expectations.
In that context, Alonso has found himself under constant examination, with every tactical choice and every result magnified.
Support from Sarabia
Reflecting on this situation, Sarabia offered a strong defence of the former midfielder, highlighting what he sees as a clear imbalance between expectations and reality.
Speaking candidly, he said, “Xabi Alonso is being treated with excessive hostility and a great deal of injustice.
“This is his first year, and change isn’t easy, yet he wants to change the style.
“He’s a coach capable of achieving that. I feel a bit sorry because I see him struggling.”
The Elche coach went further when discussing the personal toll of the situation Alonso is facing.
Addressing the atmosphere surrounding Real Madrid’s bench, Sarabia called for empathy and perspective.
“We need to be there and understand the situation.
“I think at some point Xabi will feel the need to say that we should talk about football, because dealing with such aggression toward a person, things probably didn’t go as he imagined, is likely not fair,” he concluded.
Source: Radioestadio Noche
Jose Mourinho is looking for solutions to Real Madrid’s problems, and the extended international break has given him time to analyse the team in depth.
Now, according to Defensa Central, one of the conclusions from his assessment concerns Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde, Bernardo Silva and Arda Guler, the players Mourinho believes should be central to the team’s football.
Although they operate in different positions, the manager wants all four to take a step forward on the pitch.
He wants them to push their lines higher and move closer to the opposition penalty area, believing this would help Real Madrid both defensively and offensively.
Mourinho wants to pin opponents inside their own box
Mourinho wants Real Madrid’s play to go through Bellingham, Valverde, Bernardo and Guler, but he has also asked them to start creating attacks much closer to the opposition area and to link up more closely with the forwards.
The idea is to make the team more compact in possession and force opponents deeper into their own half.
If Real Madrid’s midfield can build play much higher up the pitch, opponents will have to retreat. That would allow Mourinho’s side to improve their pressing, make it more effective and increase the volume of attacks.
As a result, Real Madrid should create considerably more opportunities to score.
A compact Real Madrid for 90 minutes
Mourinho wants his team to stay together and remain compact throughout the full 90 minutes, rather than doing so only in short periods.
Defensively, this would reduce the spaces available for opponents to build their attacks and could force them to play more directly, looking to exploit the space behind the defensive line.
That is an area where the pace and defensive ability of Marc Cucurella and Denzel Dumfries, alongside Aurelien Tchouameni, can provide protection.
The same compactness could also benefit Real Madrid in attack by keeping opponents pinned back. Mourinho wants to use the quality of his players to create a greater number of dangerous situations.
Mourinho’s idea is that Real Madrid’s most talented players must push the team forward and help them put opponents under pressure much closer to the box.
