Coach Alonso saves Real Madrid, how to practice the intermediate route in a dilemma?

Sports Weekly All-Media All-Media Reporter Wu Yifan

On the second day after Modric and Ancelotti bid farewell to the Bernabeu in tears, Real Madrid announced that Xavi Alonso became the team's new head coach. The past season has been so disappointing, and the outside world's expectations for him are so high that it really makes people in the circle worry for him. However, with his calm personality and the accumulation of the previous two years, what he needs may be more support, patience and authority to bring this team back on the road.

support and patience are both said, but coaching authority is a sensitive topic in Real Madrid. In this club where the chairman controls the overall situation, the managers are ordered to do things, and do not have a sports director position, the coaches have very vague authority and freedom, or to put it nicely, and they are very flexible. To give the simplest example, Ancelotti led the team in the second phase and won 2 Champions League and 2 La Liga trophys in 4 years. Which signings were he called to get? The team's main defense team was seriously injured for two consecutive years. The club insisted on not buying people in the winter window. No matter how difficult it was, Ancelotti could only express respect and understanding.

Even though he was a Real Madrid celebrity in his time, he returned to the Bernabeu as a coach and had little experience and no achievements. Is Alonso embarrassed to ask for someone? Some people may say that Wyson is in place, Alexander Arnold is only short of official announcement, and Carreras is on the way. I will make up three of you just after the season is over. Isn’t that okay? Ancelotti next door was crying. Regardless of whether these people are what Alonso wants, they are indeed the positions that Real Madrid is waiting to fill the gap, and their level is also good.

The key is that the problem that Alonso is now in front of him is how to add or subtract the lineup. This issue is complicated because in Real Madrid's current lineup, although Modric and Lucas Vazquez announced their farewell, they still have to play with the team to play the Club World Cup. If the existing midfield and frontcourt configuration is copied as it is, Rodrigo, Bellingham and others may still have a low ball rights and roles, and the playing time of Gulaire and Enderick are still not guaranteed. Looking at the performance and enthusiasm of Vinicius and Rodrigo in the second half of the season, Alonso must adjust the order and weight to come up with a plan that can truly cooperate. This requires subtraction. Who will leave? Wait until after the Club World Cup? Should you have any expectations for the results of the Club World Cup? Should we use the Club World Cup to practice next season? All are very troublesome and realistic issues.

subtraction is difficult to do, and addition is not easy. It depends on how many useful defenders Real Madrid still have? Rudiger had meniscus surgery, saying that it was to catch up with the Club World Cup, but his return date was not yet determined. Alaba has recovered for more than a year, but it seems that he has not recovered. Militon and Kavajal, two seriously injured, said they could also "accompany the team", but no one could say what kind of state they were in. Once Alonso changes Real Madrid's formation to three defenders based on the past two years of experience at Leverkusen, his current equipment will not be enough. Wyson will definitely play as the starting player. At present, the only one who can match him is Raul Asensio, who is waiting to be transferred to the first team. Who is the third person? Mendy or Alaba?

Compared with many clubs that are prone to internal strife, Real Madrid's locker room always seems to be very calm. After all, a powerful hand penetrates the dimensional wall and controls everything. But this also means that Alonso directly manages the locker room, or to put it more bluntly, the authority to manage big-name stars may still depend on the chairman's instructions. This is much more difficult than the technical problem of using existing ingredients to sit on the table of dishes again. The title of the column of "As" reporter Gavelondo said: "Alonso, rebuild order!" How easy is it? When he was in the team, Ronaldo's status was inferior to everyone else, just like Mbappe now. The problem is that Vinicius is not Benzema or Bale from that year. Over the past year, Rodrigo and Guillailco have both publicly complained that they are not valued.

Gavelondo attributed del Bosque and Ancelotti to "conservatism", while Queros and Lopetegui were given to "theoretical schools" of innovationism. He believes that Alonso is familiar with Real Madrid's situation and will take the middle path. The question is, how can the middle road be so easy? The last person to succeed Ancelotti was Benitez of Real Madrid, who won the Champions League, worked in a big club, and paid equal attention to theory and practice. What's the result? The middle road left for Alonso is very narrow. The signing and preparation this summer are particularly urgent and chaotic due to the existence of the Club World Cup, and the locker room problem has become difficult to ease because of the increasingly strong personality of the players. Alonso, are you really ready?