BarcelonaWhen Barcelona fans think of Álvaro Arbeloa, Gerard Piqué probably comes to mind. In one of the periods of greatest football tension between Barça and Real Madrid, the Barcelona center-back mocked his Real Madrid counterpart saying that they were not friends, they were simply “acquaintances”pausing sarcastically after the “cone.” This was Arbeloa’s nickname that Piqué, in a war of declarations at the end of 2015, blurted out during a press conference. A decade later, the former footballer becomes the new coach of Real Madrid, replacing Xabi Alonso.
Son of a Navarrese father and a Catalan mother, Arbeloa was born in Salamanca in January 1983, but his childhood was spent in Zaragoza, since his family moved there when he was four years old for work reasons. He played in the youth teams of the Aragonese club and Real Madrid recruited him at the age of 18 for the youth team (2001). Although three years later he would debut in the first team, the whites did not trust him too much and transferred him to Deportivo de A Coruña. From there he made the jump to Rafa Benítez’s Liverpool, where he gained minutes, prominence and made a place for himself in the senior Spanish team. In the summer of 2009, coinciding with the return of Florentino Pérez to the presidency of Real Madrid, Arbeloa returned to the white club, where he remained until 2016. Harassed by injuries, the full-back finished his career at English club West Ham.
Two Champions Leagues, one League, two Euro Cups and one World Cup are the main professional endorsements of an Arbeloa who did not bite his tongue when it came to defending his Madrid and stoking Barça. The center-back coincided fully with José Mourinho, when Madrid was trailing the Barça of Guardiola and Messi. In the absence of being able to win on the pitch, Mou was in charge of pouring gasoline on the fire, creating an atmosphere of tension that ended up affecting the relationship between the footballers who were teammates in the national team. Iker Casillas (Madrid) and Xavi Hernández (Barça) tried to redirect the situation, something that the Portuguese coach did not like at all. In this battle, Arbeloa positioned himself in favor of Mourinho, which would cause friction in the Madrid locker room, where they would end up accusing him of being a snitch and traitor. Curiously, Xabi Alonso was one of the few friends he kept until the end.
From José Mourinho to Florentino Pérez
Mourinho’s farewell in 2013 was a hard blow for Arbeloa, who automatically lost the title. However, he followed Real Madrid by order of Florentino Pérez, who didn’t care if the locker room had broken down. For the plenipotentiary president, he was a perfect ally who said yes to everything and who reproduced the official message. A faithful servant of the owner who exhausted his contract despite the fact that neither Ancelotti, first, nor Zidane, later, had confidence.
But Arbeloa stood firm. He knew how to move well behind the scenes and ended up gaining the trust of a Florentino who guaranteed him a job once he hung up his boots. The good relationship continued even away from the Bernabéu. With a degree in journalism and very active on social networks, Arbeloa always had his finger ready to write messages praising the management of the box and, above all, criticizing a Barça that continued to reign in Spanish competitions with Leo Messi at the forefront.
In 2020, after earning his coaching title, Arbeloa entered the Real Madrid youth team. However, his experience on the bench is limited to Valdebebas, where after the infant, the cadet and the youth this year he had made his debut as coach of Madrid Castilla. Six months later, he makes the leap to the elite. A bet that does not scare Florentino at all, who prefers someone of his rank, even if he does not have a resume in the First Division. Now it’s up to Arbeloa to show if he has his own football ideas or if, as the president wants, he limits himself to fielding footballers and managing a locker room full of egos.
