Álvaro Arbeloa’s five urgent challenges at Real Madrid 🪄 | OneFootball

Álvaro Arbeloa, magician?

This Monday’s bombshell: Xabi Alonso and Real Madrid, it’s over!

Real Madrid has officially announced the departure of their coach, who arrived this summer, and has appointed Álvaro Arbeloa, previously the reserve team coach, the day after a 3-2 defeat in the Spanish Super Cup final against FC Barcelona.

The coach from Salamanca arrives with the crucial mission of reviving a project that has lost its way over the past month. After a disappointing December, “the Spartan” will need to show leadership to restore the winning identity that Santiago Bernabéu demands of the team.

Here are the five main pillars of Álvaro Arbeloa!

Psychological reconstruction after the Super Cup

📸 FADEL SENNA - AFP or licensors

The main objective is to lift the players’ spirits. The recent defeat in the Spanish Super Cup and lingering doubts have left the team in a very gloomy state of mind.

Arbeloa must play the role of psychologist to reconnect the group before the end of January, a month that promises to be decisive for the club’s ambitions in all competitions!

An emergency plan for physical condition

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The main task in this phase is to get the team back in physical shape. The series of injuries and physical setbacks suffered in recent months has hurt the team’s competitiveness at key moments.

The new coaching staff needs the players to regain the energy required to keep up with a schedule that allows no respite.

Creativity and order in the engine room

Tactically, Arbeloa must consolidate a midfield lacking in ideas. Previous experiments in the center have not worked out, worsening the lack of fluidity in the team’s build-up play.

It is essential to restructure the team’s core so that Real Madrid can once again dominate matches through ball possession and discernment.

Managing egos

📸 FADEL SENNA - AFP or licensors

Another major challenge is to put together the pieces of the attacking puzzle. Names like Mbappé, Vinicius, Rodrygo, Bellingham, or Gonzalo have not managed to form lasting partnerships.

Arbeloa’s mission is to find the ideal system so that these stars can coexist and strengthen their goal-scoring ability without unbalancing the team.

Immediate results in a suffocating schedule

Finally, the priority is to quickly achieve positive results. The debut will take place on Wednesday in the Copa del Rey against Albacete. But the most important will be the Champions League, which is fast approaching against Monaco and Benfica. Arbeloa cannot afford any mistakes!

This article was translated from the Spanish version.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.

📸 Ben Roberts Photo - 2025 Getty Images