Former Real Madrid coach not surprised by Xabi Alonso dismissal: ‘No one can go against the players’ | OneFootball

During an interview on Radio MARCA, former Real Madrid goalkeeper and coach Mariano Garcia Remon offered a very blunt assessment of Xabi Alonso’s recent dismissal from the managerial role.

Alonso had been handed the reins of the team only seven months ago, but was removed by Florentino Perez & co. this past Monday, after the Merengues lost to FC Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup.

Garcia Remon not surprised

Garcia Remon spent 15 years at Real Madrid as a player between 1971 and 1986. Later on, post retirement, the former goalkeeper went on to become a scout and the manager of the youth and reserve teams before leaving in 1993.

In 2004, the 75-year-old returned to the club as an assistant manager and was even made interim head coach for of the first team for a brief period.

And, drawing on his deep understanding of the club, Garcia Remon said the decision to sack Alonso did not catch him off guard.

“It didn’t surprise me, and I understand it, because I’ve been there,” he said, making it clear that Real Madrid operate under a very specific hierarchy.

Former Real Madrid coach Mariano Garcia Remon. (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)

“No one can go against the players. At Real Madrid, the individuality of the player is paramount,” he added, underscoring one of the club’s key structural principles.

Garcia Remon went even further when analysing the context surrounding Alonso’s spell on the bench, saying:

“Thinking about it, I think it lasted too long. The coach made decisions he believed were right, but inside the club that doesn’t always go down well.”

He was especially blunt about internal hierarchies: “A player like Vinicius Jr. matters more to the club than a coach.”

Garcia Remon also touched on moments that, in his opinion, weaken a coach’s authority. One of them was the guard-of-honour episode after the Super Cup loss.

“It’s not a good image, neither for the coach nor for the club,” he said.

Even so, he was keen to absolve Alonso of blame. “I can’t reproach Xabi Alonso for anything,” he insisted, stressing that his ideas were legitimate and that, with a different result, they would have been judged very differently.