Xabi Alonso sacked by Real Madrid after eight months as Alvaro Arbeloa steps up | OneFootball

Xabi Alonso has been sacked by Real Madrid eight months after his appointment, with Alvaro Arbeloa promoted from the reserves. Big-game defeats and doubts over the team’s play proved decisive.

Appointed on 25 May, his reign unravelled after a 2-3 Spanish Super Cup final loss to Barcelona. The club said in a statement that his spell ended by mutual agreement on Monday evening.

He departs with 24 wins, 4 draws and 6 defeats in 34 matches, four points behind Barcelona in La Liga and with two titles lost. Directors held lengthy talks and proposed a split, while Alonso did not intend to resign.

A 13-wins-from-14 start gave way to unfulfilled promises of rock and roll football, pressing and possession. Outplayed in major games, he sat deep in both Supercopa matches, a lack of control and ambition that counted against him.

His methods met resistance, with complaints of too many videos, tactical work and intervention, and of meritocracy over status. A flashpoint came when Vinicius reacted angrily to being substituted in the late October Clásico, a 2-1 Madrid win, before a six-week slump. Injuries added to the strain, pressure mounted from mid December, he abandoned his principles in a bid to survive, support from above wavered, he was José Angel Sanchez’s pick rather than Florentino Pérez’s, reinforcements did not arrive, and Arbeloa now takes over.

Source: L'Équipe