Álvaro Arbeloa focuses his shot on his Real Madrid’s next match, a league duel against Villarreal at La Cerámica that serves as … test for white improvement against Monaco. «Villarreal is a great rival that is going to demand our best level from us. Tomorrow’s game is very important, one of the most complicated outings we have in the League,” the Madrid coach stressed first, focusing attention on the immediate.
However, the proximity of the next match, the Champions League match against José Mourinho’s Benfica, with a direct ticket to the round of 16 at stake, and the morbidity implied by the reunion with the Portuguese coach of his former player diverts the focus of attention. “You all know what Mourinho means to me and when he speaks I always try to listen to him and analyze him,” explained the Real Madrid coach in reference to the Portuguese’s words, who positively valued the opportunity these days for a coach with little experience until now.
For now, beyond that expected match on the benches, Arbeloa values the disposition of his team. “We have a lot to improve, but from day one I have seen a group of players eager to work,” he said, before assessing “the predisposition of all the players to help the team over the individual.” “That’s what I want, people willing to help,” he added, asked about the versatility of Valverde and Camavinga, improvised full-backs against Monaco.
“I can only speak about what has happened since I arrived last Tuesday, and I see players very willing to work, who have welcomed me with open arms,” he insisted regarding the attitude of the locker room, which he is trying to reinforce without entering into an earlier stage, with Xabi Alonso, of which he was not a direct witness.
«Hopefully that match will be the turning point we need, Kylian (Mbappé) said it and we all commented on it. It was our time to take a step forward and bring joy to our fans,” he then highlighted about the win over Monaco, which has changed the sensations of a always cyclothymic environment in record time.
Vinicius and his renewal
Vinicius, always in the eye of the hurricane, is the perfect example of that roller coaster of sensations. The Brazilian, singled out by the whistles of an angry crowd in the league match against Levante, completed one of his best performances in a long time days later, against Monaco, once again opening the debate about his renewal. “That is not up to me, obviously my wish is that Vinicius can continue making history here,” Arbeloa expressed in this sense.
Beyond the contractual situation of the Fluminense, the Madrid coach is not looking towards a winter market to which the club does not plan to resort, a decision that, despite the injuries, has the approval of the coach. “I have an extraordinary squad, I am very happy and if something is ever needed we have a great youth team that has given so much in the history of Madrid,” he limited himself to pointing out a coach forged from beginning to end in the club’s lower categories.
In the run-up to the league match against Levante, his debut at the Bernabéu, Arbeloa left a significant image, standing in front of the display case that houses the club’s fifteen Champions League trophies. The image unleashed a wave of comments and the coach explained it: “It was the first time I went to the stadium as a coach, I had never been there and when I saw them I felt the history of Real Madrid.” “I’m not worried,” he then resolved the doubts about his figure as a coach, before supporting Bellingham, whose celebration while pretending to drink has caused blisters, and Brahim, emotionally affected after the decisive penalty he missed with Morocco in the final of the Africa Cup.
