After signing his job as sports director of Real Madrid in December 2005, Arrigo Sacchi deciphered the enigmas of the best club in the world in a brilliant phrase. «If a plane crashes in Colombia, for Florentino Pérez the fault will be the Real Madrid coach … ». The white president has built the best series in history without a football director, he has won seven Champions Leagues and seven Leagues, but it has never been about coaches, but about footballers. His passion was always the players.
Xabi Alonso could receive royal grace when he was a footballer for Real Madrid and a pillar in the best Spanish team that never existed, six seasons of white and a Champions League, that of Sergio Ramos’ goal in Lisbon against Atlético, but he lost all his previous appreciation when he sat on a bench and assumed the responsibilities of a coach.
Then the Gipuzkoan stopped being funny because at Real Madrid, except for Mourinho for his personality, Zidane for his aura as a football giant and Carlo Ancelotti for his ingenious eyebrow as a good manager of souls, few coaches have passed the sieve. Zidane left twice and both times, especially the second, he claimed that he resigned because the club “no longer had confidence” in him.
Xabi Alonso was sentenced by Vinicius’ endless fussing when the coach decided to change him for Rodrygo during the League classic that, paradoxically, Madrid beat Barcelona on October 26. The Brazilian caused a fight with Alonso by making gestures of contempt, “Me, me?” he protested. Until he arrived in the band it was a symphony of contempt towards the coach that culminated in a capricious child’s phrase. “I’m leaving the team, I’m leaving the team,” he repeated when he headed to the locker room with the game at stake.
Vinicius had already shown his displeasure in other substitutions, and even more so after the coach did not consider him indisputable during the Club World Cup in the United States. For Xabi Alonso, only Mbappé has that unique condition. But after some disappointments from Madrid, some players (Huijsen and Guler) already suggested that Vinicius and also Mbappé should “defend more.”
Vinicius had already shown displeasure in other substitutions since Xabi did not consider him indisputable in the Club World Cup.
The high pressure that Xabi Alonso wants, in the style of what the Spanish team does with De la Fuente or PSG with Luis Enrique, has been blurring over the course of the season due to the defensive laziness of Vinicius and Mbappé.
The general reaction to Vinicius’ anger has destroyed Xabi Alonso, a coach who has not empathized with Real Madrid fans, too cold, too distant. The club did not come out publicly to defend the coach’s authority and the Brazilian star did not apologize to his coach in a statement full of excuses: to the club, to the fans and to his teammates. About Alonso, not a word.
That’s where the credit of the dismissed coach ended. The players detect the sign of weakness at first glance and Xabi Alonso himself was not able to turn the situation around with some public gesture, some spark in the press conferences. With a very flat profilespoke of unity, support, all together, he tried to appear affinity between the star locker room and his technical staff. It was not difficult to perceive the disconnection from any viewing angle.
Vinicius, who He did not go to the Ballon d’Or gala due to a kid’s tantrum when the Spaniard Rodri won it and who received the explicit support of the club when no one showed up, he sparked the departure of Xabi Alonso with his whimsical personality.
From then on, poor play and discreet results put him in an almost permanent situation. After the October classic, three consecutive draws in the League against theoretically lesser rivals—Rayo (0-0), Elche (2-2) and Girona (1-1)—opened the run run. The victory in San Mamés (0-3) acted as a false balm, useless after the defeat four days later against Celta at the Bernabéu (0-2).
Later came the constant match points for Alonso in the matches against Alavés, Talavera (Copa), Seville and Betis. All of them ended with victories, the final exam had a distant venue, Saudi Arabia. The Super Cup, the first title of the year, would dictate the sentence. A distressing victory against Atlético (1-2) and the defeat in the final against Barcelona confirmed the final sentence of the Basque coach.
