Fabio Capello talks Vinicius, Mbappe, Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso: ‘Have to make wine with the grapes you have’ | OneFootball

Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid took one step in the right direction with a dominant 5-1 win over Real Betis last night, but it is far too soon to say that the club are past its issues.

The first half of the season, after all, highlighted endless problems in their dynamics including the manager’s difficulty in transmitting his ideas, the long injury list, the lack of cohesion on the field, and a rift between the manager and the dressing room.

Former Real Madrid manager Fabio Capello spoke to MARCA in a recent interview where he opened up on several topics related to Real Madrid, where he dealt in depth on the team’s struggles.

However, he began on a rather surprising note by revealing who the best player he had coached was.

“Ronaldo, the Brazilian. And after him, Van Basten, near. When I trained Ronaldo he had no injuries, but he didn’t feel like it either.”

“He didn’t like to lose weight, he liked life… And I threw him out of Madrid. But if you ask me who was the best, it’s easy: Ronaldo, by far,” he added.

When asked why he pushed for the Brazilian’s departure, the former coach calmly said,

“His problem was not training, it was losing weight.”

On Xabi Alonso and Real Madrid

Capello was then asked about Xabi Alonso’s struggles in implementing his style of football at Real Madrid and he responded with a cryptic, yet accurate reply.

“I always say that you have to make the wine with the grapes you have. If you want to make champagne but you don’t have champagne grapes, you’re not going to make champagne.”

“When you arrive at a new place you have to know where you are going to work,” he added.

When reminded that Alonso knew Real Madrid well before he joined, the former coach insisted that managing a club was very different from being a player.

“Yes, he knows them, but he knows them as a player, which is not the same as a coach.”

“As a player, the most important thing is to train, lead an athlete’s life, and, on match day, to play. As a coach you have to think a lot, you have 25 players and you must see where to place them so that they give the best performance,” he added.

The manager then backed Alonso for how he handled Vinicius Jr.’s situation in El Clasico and pinned the blame on the player.

“There Xabi Alonso was perfect. In front of the whole stadium, with all the fans, it is not the place to solve it. You have to talk later, in the locker room, and above all apologize to the team.”

Alonso has had a rocky start at Real Madrid. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

“Have respect in the locker room, there are 24 teammates and they all want to play. Because Vinicius committed a lack of respect with the player who entered the field instead,” he added.

The former coach was then asked if experience was vital to coach Real Madrid given the big names in the dressing room.

“It’s not a matter of experience, but of having leadership. There are teams where you arrive and everything is calmer, and teams where everything is a little more difficult.”

He did, however, admit that coaching Real Madrid was never on the same scale as coaching Bayer Leverkusen.

“No, of course not. In every place where you go, there is something different.”

“And the more stars there are, the more difficult it is, because they also have their leadership, and you have to get them to put that leadership in favor of the team, not just in their own favour,” he added.

The Italian tactician then admitted that managing a dressing room with big names was not easy.

“Yes, the most complicated ever. I’ve already told you that Ronaldo was fired from Madrid, and he was the best player I’ve ever had. The most difficult thing is to have a negative leader, because it can be a major problem.”

When asked about how Carlo Ancelotti managed such a challenging job with ease, he said,

“Carlo is ‘the teacher’. He was my player and I know him very well. He has natural leadership: he seems lazy but he is not lazy, he seems calm but when it is time to say things clearly to the team, he does. He knows how to have the team on his side.”

On Real Madrid not pressing

On Real Madrid not pressing as a unit when off the ball this season, he was not surprised and exclaimed that the case has always been such at Real Madrid.

“Those players have never pressed, never, and they are not going to do it. With Ancelotti, they didn’t press either. It’s one thing to go back and place yourself in an area where they help the team, but do you really want them to press?”

“They don’t have that ability, they can’t do it. We are talking about players who when they have the ball they hurt the opposite, and when the team does not have it they must return, but not to put pressure,” he added.

Capello then responded to whether it was possible for a team to flourish in today’s day and age without two or three players pressing, to which he said,

“Now it seems that everything consists of pressing. But there are individual cases in which a player does not press, but when we have the ball he has to do something good and different, and that is when you have to demand him,” he added.

“If he doesn’t work 100% without the ball, let him do it at 70% at least, let him stop something on the contrary. When you have players who make a difference, you have to think about it well,” he concluded on the topic.

Explaining his point with an example, Capello said,

“The pressure is important, but I see City play and Haaland doesn’t press much either… Some teams push forward, and others do it backwards correctly.”

On Real Madrid’s problems

Capello was then asked about how Kylian Mbappe’s arrival has seen Vinicius Jr, Jude Bellingham, and others fall in prominence.

“They had a season where all three were at the same level,” he began.

Vinicius and Bellingham have not been at their best. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

“When Mbappe arrived, he struggled for three months, during which time everyone was eagerly waiting to see him play,” he added.

“These are moments of form in football. The important thing is to see how they can gel on the field,” he concluded.

When asked about Mbappe and Vinicius struggling to create a working dynamic, the former coach said,

“You have to talk clearly with everyone and tell them what you want from the team.”

“It’s not just about Mbappe, but about the team, what do you want him to do: run, help each other, train one way or so. That’s the coach’s problem, who has to solve those things,” he added.

Finally, the coach delved into the issue of Real Madrid’s midfield and how the team are struggling in that department.

“Real Madrid no longer have great quality in midfield. It’s just that you think about Modric, Kroos, and Casemiro and where are you going to find a midfield like that now? That has been the strength of Real Madrid all these years.”

Admitting that the midfield was the team’s single-biggest problem, Capello concluded saying,

“Yes, of course. When you have a very good midfield you already have half the problem solved. The goalkeeper and the midfield are the key, because they help the defence and the strikers.”

“You have to know how to make the right move at the moment, the exact moment in which to put the ball in the specific place. And if you don’t have that quality, it’s up to you to make a side pass or a back pass,” he added.