Real Madrid leaders impressed by club legend’s methods as Castilla head coach | OneFootball

Xabi Alonso’s future at the club remains in a grey area, and no one can state with certainty if he will remain in his post in a month’s of today.

The manager has had a rocky time in recent months, especially with the team losing ground in La Liga at the end of 2025. The team did indeed finish the year decently, but there are growing doubts about whether he is indeed the right man for the project.

January’s FIFA Club World Cup may well be the deciding factor in Alonso’s future, but Real Madrid are staying prepared for the worst.

In that sense, AS‘s recent report on Alvaro Arbeloa becomes significant.

Arbeloa liked by the board

As relayed by the Spanish outlet, several Real Madrid leaders are impressed with Arbeloa’s work for the lower division teams – first with the Juvenil A and more recently with the Castilla side.

The manager, after all, has done exceedingly well irrespective of the setup entrusted with – something that speaks volumes about his managerial quality.

It was in the 2022-23 season that he began to make a solid name for himself, especially with his team’s run in the league, cup and in Europe.

Arbeloa has impressed at the Real Madrid hierarchy. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)

It was a team that boasted the likes of Nico Paz, Jacobo Ramon and Gonzalo Garcia among others and Arbeloa does deserve credit for all of them being in top clubs today.

More than the results, however, it is the dominant style of football he provides that has got the Real Madrid hierarchy supporting him. His teams work hard off the ball with vigorous intensity, win the ball up high and play with a wonderful vertical style of football. 

Arbeloa is also liked for being up to date with his approach to management which is exemplified in his use of drones to get an aerial view of his team’s structure. He is outspoken, fearless with the media and an approachable figure for his players.

There are no direct links between him and the first-team job as of today, but it appears that it is only a matter of time if the team do not improve.

Real Madrid will be on the lookout for a successor, and Arbeloa is giving off all the right cues.