Bienvenido? Sayonara? : 15 November 2024

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Xabi Alonso could well be on his way to the Bernabeu.

Carlo Ancelotti has had a long stint, this being his 4th straight season. That in itself is an achievement on top of the two double-winning seasons in 3 seasons.

The pressure of the Real Madrid job is never really alleviated by results or silverware. It lingers on throughout.

It may well be that Carlo is at the end of his tether and a change is needed. There’s no guarantee of success with change, only a guarantee that standards will remain high at the Bernabeu.

Xabi Alonso has his own vision of the game and if he does indeed find himself in the Bernabeu dugout, he will need to be a mix of Ancelotti and Zidane.. The right mix of pragmatism and freedom.

The return of Xabi Alonso to the Bernabeu will signal the fulfilment of something the club tried to do before Ancelotti’s second spell. Nagelsmann felt he wasn’t up for the hot seat at the time. A young manager with fresh ideas and a footballing legacy at the club seems like a recipe for success.

The Fullback Revolution

If Real Madrid get proper attacking fullbacks, Xabi Alonso might be the right man to make it work.

Carlo prefers the pessimistic defender and perhaps that undermines his offensive strategy at times.

Xabi has shown himself to prefer exploitation of the wide areas during his time at Leverkusen although he’s done this with a back 3 and not a back 4.

The Other Flo

Xabi Alonso might bring Florian Wirtz with him to the Bernabeu which would certainly make the starting XI interesting. Xabi tends to rotate with near reckless abandon at Leverkusen and that might create a stronger squad in the longer term given the resources at Real Madrid.

Tragic Alaba

David Alaba’s passing and pressing has been sorely missed. I would be delighted to have him back despite his weaknesses as a CB, particularly the aerial duels, we played so much better in possession when he was healthy and playing.

I really hope we can get something similar from Tchouaméni at CB if he embraces the role. Tchouaméni is already strong in the air. He would just need to be more brave with his passing and improve his timing to press and tackle.