Former Real Madrid star tears into team – “Bad times are coming” | OneFootball

Real Madrid’s recent win against Rayo Vallecano has created more problems than solutions for the club.

After all, the club had to rely on a late penalty from Kylian Mbappe to secure three points, after appearing almost toothless in attack and vulnerable in defence.

Not to mention, Barcelona president Joan Laporta didn’t hold back from criticising the referee for some of the calls he had made during the game.

In light of Real Madrid’s hard-fought victory, former player Alvaro Benito has offered some strong suggestions.

Alvaro Benito on Real Madrid’s tactical woes

In a recent interaction with Movistar+ (h/t MARCA), Benito, a former Real Madrid player, has claimed that the team lacks any kind of identity or philosophy.

“Time goes by and we still don’t know what Real Madrid’s footballing philosophy is. Is it a team that wants to counter-attack, defend high up the pitch, press, keep possession, dominate…?” Benito said.

Alvaro Benito believes Arbeloa has a lot of work ahead of him. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

He argued that simply improving the mood in the dressing room – Arbeloa’s apparent priority – is insufficient for a club of this stature.

“To dominate, you obviously have to meet many defensive requirements that aren’t being met. I think Arbeloa has a lot of work ahead of him,” he noted.

“It won’t be enough for him to simply create a good atmosphere, which he seems to be achieving and which has been the number one objective, like having the players in a good ecosystem.”

“Then there’s the other aspect, which is the technical and tactical one,” Benito added.

Benito was particularly critical of the notion that this star-studded squad is somehow “uncoachable.” He warned that without immediate structural improvements, the current momentum is unsustainable.

“It can’t be that an elite team can’t be coached, in quotes,” he stated.

“I think we’ve reached that point where, hey, either the team defines itself and is a truly dominant team in the game, capable of controlling matches so that if you have a bad result, it’s just an accident that can happen in football, or very bad times are coming,” he concluded.