Gab & Juls Show: Is this Real Madrid's worst week in recent history?
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
I'm Gab, he's not Jules. That's right, making his debut, we have Sam Tai. Welcome aboard, Sam.
You're like a taller, bearded Jules. Wow, that's quite the compliment. That is a compliment. And I'm glad you're in because what a week we have, what a show we have. Manchester United now have a manager. How about that? Paris Saint-Germain lose a game. We had the League Cup semi-finals. We have Inter extending their lead in Serie A. We have Munich 11 points clear at the midpoint of the Bundesliga season. There's news. But we have to start at one place, the Bernabeu. Xabi Alonso is no longer the manager. He's been, you can put whatever, he's departed the club. No, he was fired. Álvaro Arbeloa is now in charge. And in their first game, they lose the Copa del Rey to Albacete. But let's start with the big one.
Conventional wisdom is that Xabi Alonso is gone because they're second in La Liga, they're five points back, they lost the Supercopa final to Barcelona. Conventional wisdom is that Xabi Alonso is a system. This is what Jules and I have been saying all year. I want to hear your take. He's a system coach, and this is a team that in recent years, certainly in the Galactico era, has really only had success with man-management coaches who trust the players more and kind of let them do their own thing. I'm thinking of Ancelotti, of Zidane. Rafa Benitez had a nightmare. He would say he's a system coach. For sure.
Yeah, I mean, the coaches that tend to succeed at Real Madrid these days and in recent history have empowered player personality and almost empowered player power and let the likes of Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham dictate what happens. Carlo was the master at putting some semblance of a structure in place and then allowing those very talented players to solve the problems on their own. which is exactly how these players are used to being treated and exactly how they want to be treated. They want to be given that autonomy. So Alonso came in with some pretty big ideas. We know that he wants to press and counter press. He wants to work from the front and backwards. Clearly Madrid at some level bought into this at the high, at the higher levels, because they've figured that after last year they needed to change the
Their style of play was looking quite outdated. Alonso was quite an extreme version, I thought.
What led to Real Madrid parting ways with Xabi Alonso?
And over the course of the season, it feels like he's taping his ideas back a little bit as he's made concessions. Clearly didn't quite make enough concessions because he's bitten the bullet six months in.
I made the point that he kind of tried to thread the needle. Cause look, Tommy Alonso is a really bright guy. Yeah. He was part of the galactical era under Jose Mourinho. He gets it.
How does Álvaro Arbeloa's appointment impact Real Madrid's strategy?
Um, I think he tried to thread the needle between the two. Um, but yeah, There were obviously certain obstacles that he couldn't overcome. Although that said, I read a piece in The Athletic where they have one of those analytics and tactics buffins. He made the point that actually he was starting to take screenshots of the screens.
What are the implications of Real Madrid's recent Copa del Rey loss?
He shows average positions and he says he was implementing some things. And actually Real Madrid's XG difference this season is the best in La Liga. It's substantially better than Barcelona's.
Sure. I mean, so I think Alonso tried to install certain things, but it's a big task here, right? You pick it up in the summer, which reportedly he didn't want to do. Didn't want to do the Club World Cup, wanted the fresh slate into pre-season. Don't know how that really works because the Club World Cup took quite a while.
How do player dynamics affect coaching decisions at Real Madrid?
They got quite far. So how much of a pre-season would he have got anyway? So I don't really understand that logic. But what I think he managed to do was install the counter press at least, right? So as soon as you lose the ball, press for six seconds and try and get it back. I thought there were certain players that did that really well. Mastantuono was really good. Shuumeni was huge in the centre of the midfield, mopping up all those balls. And I watched them score several goals because Shuumeni had intercepted.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:05–2:25
2
What led to Real Madrid parting ways with Xabi Alonso?
2:25–2:44
3
How does Álvaro Arbeloa's appointment impact Real Madrid's strategy?
2:44–3:05
4
What are the implications of Real Madrid's recent Copa del Rey loss?
3:05–3:35
5
How do player dynamics affect coaching decisions at Real Madrid?
3:35–19:51
6
What changes are proposed for the offside rule by Arsene Wenger?
19:51–1:07:10
7
How do recent managerial changes reflect on club strategies?
1:07:10–1:10:34
Speakers
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