{"id":31950,"date":"2025-06-02T13:41:32","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T12:41:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/matchplug.com\/blog\/?p=31950"},"modified":"2025-06-05T23:30:49","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T22:30:49","slug":"three-issues-xabi-alonso-faces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/matchplug.com\/blog\/three-issues-xabi-alonso-faces\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Issues Xabi Alonso Faces"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Xabi Alonso returns to Real Madrid as the club&#8217;s new manager following Carlo Ancelotti&#8217;s departure. With Los Blancos finishing the season trophyless and preparing for the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup, the former midfielder has three key challenges ahead:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1. Restoring Tactical Balance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alonso inherits a squad that struggled with structure and consistency. Ancelotti publicly complained of an unbalanced team, overloaded in attack but exposed at the back, especially following injuries and the unaddressed retirement of Toni Kroos. Alonso must:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Integrate Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 and Vinicius Junior in a way that avoids tactical overlap and defensive vulnerability.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Rebuild midfield control and discipline without Kroos and Luka Modri\u0107 (who departs after the Club World Cup).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Possibly implement his preferred 3-4-3 system, which could suit new arrivals like Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2. Managing Star Egos<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Real Madrid\u2019s dressing room is filled with high-profile names and even higher expectations. Ancelotti thrived at managing personalities like Ronaldo, Bale, and Vinicius, maintaining harmony while producing results. Alonso must:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Command respect as a former Madrid star while establishing his authority as a first-time manager at this level.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Keep harmony between egos such as Mbapp\u00e9, Jude Bellingham, and Vinicius.<br>\n<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Maintain good relationships not only with players, but also club president Florentino P\u00e9rez and the Madrid media.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3. Reversing the Clasico Trend<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Barcelona humiliated Madrid in all four Cl\u00e1sicos this season, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A 4-0 rout at the Bernab\u00e9u.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A decisive 4-3 win to reclaim the La Liga title.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Wins in both the Copa del Rey (3-2) and Supercopa de Espa\u00f1a (5-2) finals.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Hansi Flick\u2019s Bar\u00e7a used high pressing and tactical fluidity to expose Madrid\u2019s flaws. Alonso must quickly develop a plan to make Madrid competitive again in these marquee matchups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Xabi Alonso appointment has generated excitement, but these three issues will define his early months in charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Xabi Alonso returns to Real Madrid as the club&#8217;s new manager following Carlo Ancelotti&#8217;s departure. With Los Blancos finishing the season trophyless and preparing for the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup, the former midfielder has three key challenges ahead: 1. Restoring Tactical Balance Alonso inherits a squad that struggled with structure and consistency. Ancelotti publicly complained of an unbalanced team, overloaded in attack but exposed at the back, especially following injuries and the unaddressed retirement of Toni Kroos. Alonso must: 2. Managing Star Egos Real Madrid\u2019s dressing room is filled with high-profile names and even higher expectations. Ancelotti thrived at managing personalities like Ronaldo, Bale, and Vinicius, maintaining harmony while producing results. Alonso must: 3. Reversing the Clasico Trend Barcelona humiliated Madrid in all four Cl\u00e1sicos this season, including: Hansi Flick\u2019s Bar\u00e7a used high pressing and tactical fluidity to expose Madrid\u2019s flaws. Alonso must quickly develop a plan to make Madrid competitive again in these marquee matchups. Xabi Alonso appointment has generated excitement, but these three issues will define his early months in charge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":31954,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,159,169,531],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","category-football-news","category-news","category-news-2"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Three Issues Xabi Alonso Faces - Matchplug Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With Los Blancos finishing the season trophyless and preparing for the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup,Xabi Alonso has three challenges ahead.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/matchplug.com\/blog\/three-issues-xabi-alonso-faces\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Three Issues Xabi Alonso Faces - 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