Alvaro Arbeloa places his trust in Pintus as Real Madrid eye turnaround | OneFootball

Real Madrid sacked Xabi Alonso from the managerial position earlier this week, with his close friend and former teammate, Alvaro Arbeloa, succeeding him in the role.

Even though the 43-year-old has been in charge for only a few days, there have already been some important changes in the background – one of which happens to be the reintegration of Antonio Pintus into the first-team staff.

Alonso’s reluctance to bring Pintus on board despite Florentino Perez’s insistence amid the team’s physical woes was a key factor in his dismissal. And the fitness coach is now a part of Arbeloa’s backroom staff.

Arbeloa trusts Pintus to help team

And, according to AS, the new Real Madrid manager has placed his full trust in Pintus to help turn things around at the club amidst the ongoing crisis.

While Alonso backed his trusted fitness coach, Ismael Camenforte, until the very end, Arbeloa has embraced Pintus from the very first day of his tenure.

Welcomed back into the fold by Arbeloa. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

At his first training session last Tuesday, the two were seen speaking privately, notably during the period open to the media. At the Carlos Belmonte, the close embrace they shared on the bench just before kick-off against Albacete was also striking.

After the defeat against Albacete, Arbeloa openly leaned on the Italian, saying: “There is a lot of room for improvement physically and that is what Antonio is for, we need it.”

Squad welcomes move

Within the Real Madrid squad, despite the current scrutiny they are under, the change has been well received.

Pintus is a popular figure in the dressing room, and his demanding methodology left a strong impression on the core of the team, even though there were some complaints leading to him being removed from the staff last year even before Alonso’s arrival.