Álvaro Arbeloa marked territory in his first press conference as the new coach of Real Madrid. The man from Salamanca by birth but by adoption expressed … excited about the formidable challenge he faces, he vindicated the quality of the squad he is in charge of, assured that everyone starts from scratch and recognized the influence that José Mourinho, one of his teachers, has had on him, but at the same time making it clear that trying to emulate the Setúbal strategist does not cross his mind. «For me it was a privilege and an honor to be coached by Mourinho. He was a person who had a great influence on me, I carry him within me but I am going to be Álvaro Arbeloa. I am not afraid of failure, but I am sure that if I wanted to be José Mourinho I would fail miserably,” said the former Castilla coach.
Not even 24 hours have passed since Arbeloa learned of Florentino Pérez’s decision to promote him to the first team to replace his good friend Xabi Alonso, but he wanted to show from the first moment that he is ready for the challenge. «I really want to start tomorrow with a competition in which we risk everything. “I am lucky to have an extraordinary squad,” said the coach before his debut on Wednesday against Albacete in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey and just directing his first training session in charge of Real Madrid, a session that was marked by the absence of such important players as Mbappé, Rüdiger, Rodrygo, Militao, Trent and Mendy, as well as by the presence of players he has been in charge of at Castilla such as Sergio Mestre, Fran González, Cestero, Palacios, David Jiménez, Joan Martínez and Manuel Ángel who can have a leading role with Real Madrid now that whoever was their coach until Monday is the supreme leader of the first team.
«The Real Madrid quarry is the best in the world. We have been demonstrating it for many years. There are Factory-grown players all over the world. I have been lucky enough to be with many players over the years and they have brought me to me. They have a great opportunity because the first team coach knows them better than anyone,” Arbeloa warned.
