Real Madrid's reign under Xabi Alonso as manager has come to an end, with the club confirming that they have parted ways with the Spanish tactician. The decision was made after several disagreements between Alonso and the players over tactics and approach, which had been building up over the past few months.
Sources close to the club revealed that Alonso's time in charge was marked by a lack of sporting grace, particularly after their 5-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid in La Liga. The team's physical condition was also cited as an issue, with players not improving and appearing to be playing for themselves rather than Alonso.
Despite decent results, including a victory over Barcelona in October, Alonso never managed to convince the players that his way was the right way. He attempted to implement high-intensity pressing and positional football, which had been successful at Bayer Leverkusen, but it ultimately didn't work at Real Madrid.
The departure of Alonso is not a surprise, given the club's tendency to restrict their managers' authority and quietly prepare the ground for dismissals months in advance. Castilla coach Alvaro Arbeloa will take over as interim manager, but it remains to be seen whether he can change the culture and bring success back to the Bernabeu.
Alonso himself seems relieved at leaving the club, with sources suggesting that rest may be on the horizon for him. However, many European clubs would be keen to have him next season if circumstances allow.
Sources close to the club revealed that Alonso's time in charge was marked by a lack of sporting grace, particularly after their 5-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid in La Liga. The team's physical condition was also cited as an issue, with players not improving and appearing to be playing for themselves rather than Alonso.
Despite decent results, including a victory over Barcelona in October, Alonso never managed to convince the players that his way was the right way. He attempted to implement high-intensity pressing and positional football, which had been successful at Bayer Leverkusen, but it ultimately didn't work at Real Madrid.
The departure of Alonso is not a surprise, given the club's tendency to restrict their managers' authority and quietly prepare the ground for dismissals months in advance. Castilla coach Alvaro Arbeloa will take over as interim manager, but it remains to be seen whether he can change the culture and bring success back to the Bernabeu.
Alonso himself seems relieved at leaving the club, with sources suggesting that rest may be on the horizon for him. However, many European clubs would be keen to have him next season if circumstances allow.
he got decent results and all but it sounds like there was some major egos clash goin on 
players weren't buyin into his tactics and that's a major red flag imo 
at least castilla coach arbeloa has some experience under carlo anzola so maybe this is a good move for them 
but real madrid's gonna need to sort out their managerial issues ASAP or else they'll be stuck in mediocrity forever 
. Real Madrid has a history of changing managers quick like before they even get started. Alonso had some decent wins under his belt but those disagreements with the players were always gonna be a problem. I think it's funny how they're saying he was all about sporting grace, yeah right 
. And what's up with all these "restricting managers' authority" claims? Sounds like they're just setting themselves up for another disaster. Fingers crossed Arbeloa can bring some stability back to the Bernabeu!
. I mean, you can't just implement a whole new system and expect the players to buy in overnight, especially when they've had so many different managers over the years. It's like trying to rebuild a massive IKEA bookshelf without the instructions 
. The thing is, Real Madrid's culture is so toxic sometimes – it's like they're allergic to failure or something 
. Can't wait to see what happens next!
. now the question is, can someone new come in and turn things around? or is Real Madrid just gonna keep on churnin out coaches like it's nobodies business 
? anyway... Alonso might need a break, but for him, I think he'll always be remembered as one of those managers who tried to shake things up too much 
.
like i'm not surprised tbh, they r all about keeping managers on a string & not lettin them do thier thing. anywayz, high-intensity pressing doesn't work w/ players who r more concerned w/ themselves than the team, u feel? 
lets c if he can turn things around 
! I mean, they've had some tough seasons lately and it's clear that the tactics just weren't working out 
. High-intensity pressing can be super effective in certain situations but it doesn't seem like Alonso was able to get his team on the same page. 
. On one hand you wanna give the guy credit for at least trying to shake things up, but on the other hand, 5-2 to Atletico is just brutal 
. Can he get the team back on track and build a winning culture? 
Only time will tell! 
Alonso's tactics were all about high-intensity pressing, but did it even work? Like I get it, he was successful at Leverkusen, but Madrid is a whole different beast! 