Weakened by Real Madrid’s poor series of results, Xabi Alonso plays big during the clash against Manchester City on Wednesday (9 p.m.) in the Champions League. The Spanish coach ensures that he maintains the unity of his team.
At the heart of the storm, Xabi Alonso stays the course before the clash between Real Madrid and Manchester City on Wednesday (9 p.m.) in the Champions League. His team is going through a complicated period with only two victories in the last seven matches and great nervousness, illustrated by the three red cards received against Celta Vigo (Fran Garcia, Alvaro Carreras, Endrick) and the repeated invectives against the refereeing body. In this slump, the Madrid coach – who would be contested by part of his locker room – obviously found himself weakened. But he did not want to let anything show about his difficulties, this Tuesday at a press conference during which he advocated unity.
“We are all united”
“It’s a team effort, we’re all united,” he said. “When you’re the coach of Real Madrid, you’re prepared. I’m really looking forward to what’s in store for us, and that starts tomorrow. We need to turn the tide, which is understandable. We only think about City. In football, things can change very quickly for better or for worse.”
The former midfielder, appointed last summer to the Real bench, assures that he does not take into account the noise surrounding his possible successors in the event of his ouster. “When you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for all situations,” he recalled, explaining that he was in constant contact with his management. “Communication is constant, we are together in all of this,” he assured.
Does he still feel the support of the whole team? “Yes,” he simply replied. He still played on the sacred union: “We are all together, without cracks, with the conviction that this is an opportunity. We must have the energy to create a connection with the public.”
He was again asked about a possible rebound at Liverpool in a game of musical chairs where he could be tipped to succeed Arne Slot, in the event that both men were removed from their current positions. “For the moment, my place is here. I am where I want to be, the future I don’t know what can happen,” he clarified, determined to get back up the slippery slope on which he is engaged.
“When you arrive at Real, the question is not to change the culture but to adapt, and then there is a process. Every match, we take steps forward. We are in a situation that we must face and have the desire and good energy to turn the situation around,” he promised
