•Xabi Alonso
Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso returns to Anfield to face his former side Liverpool in the Champions League tomorrow after a nearly immaculate start to life in the Spanish capital.
While Premier League giants Liverpool have just two wins in their last eight games, Alonso’s Madrid are on a high, transformed from last season and improving weekly under the Basque manager, reports AFP.
The 15-time European champions beat Clasico rivals Barcelona last weekend in La Liga and aim to flex their muscles in another high-calibre match against Arne Slot’s Liverpool.
Their only defeat this season came in a 5-2 derby humiliation by Atletico Madrid and Alonso’s side have progressed rapidly since.
Many Liverpool fans hoped the Spaniard would take the reins at Anfield when Jurgen Klopp announced he would leave the club at the end of the 2023/24 season.
Elegant on the ball, Alonso was the brains of Liverpool’s midfield between 2004 and 2009.
He was key to the 2005 Champions League triumph in Istanbul and won the FA Cup among other silverware before departing for Real Madrid.
Alonso stayed for an extra year at Bayer Leverkusen and instead stepped into Carlo Ancelotti’s shoes after Madrid ended last season without a major trophy.
He has made a quick impact at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Madrid winning 13 of their 14 matches this season.
Ancelotti found it hard to make his star-studded attack press opponents, but Alonso’s side have been diligent. With greater intensity without the ball, Madrid are more sturdy.
“To win trophies you have to defend well, obtaining many clean sheets,” said Alonso, as Madrid secured their seventh of the season in a 4-0 rout of Valencia on Saturday.
Spanish newspaper Marca wrote Madrid have “forged a new identity” and now “dominate, suffocate and subdue their opponents” — a far cry from the lethargy of Ancelotti’s final season.
The Italian could not bring himself to drop Rodrygo Goes even though playing him with Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham made Madrid top heavy.
Now no team in Europe has more ball recoveries in the final third than Madrid.
Alonso has also shown his willingness to make tactical shifts during games and between matches, whereas Ancelotti’s side were more predictible.
The coach decided his team will train before heading to Merseyside, so Liverpool get no hints to how he will approach the match.
“It’s my decision (not to train at Anfield), we prefer to do it at home, in our space, so they don’t put 200 cameras on us,” said Alonso.
– Stars rising –
Alonso has also got the best out of his team’s star players, with perhaps one exception.
Winger Vinicius showed his frustration with his coach publicly during the Clasico, substituted and storming off in a fit of histrionics.
The Brazilian made a public apology to the fans and the club, without mentioning his coach, although Alonso said the matter was resolved.
Vinicius impressed against Valencia despite missing a penalty, and Alonso’s cautious handling may be the right way to keep the forward as a useful asset this season.
Mbappe is in sensational form, continuing his resurgence from the second half of last season.
The French forward missed a penalty last season at Anfield as Madrid fell to a 2-0 defeat. It was a low point as he struggled for confidence which Mbappe rebounded from.
Mbappe has 18 goals across all competitions already this season while adding pressing to his game at the behest of Alonso.
Another revitalised player is England international Jude Bellingham. With goals against Barcelona, Juventus and Valencia in the past fortnight, the midfielder is becoming key to Alonso’s side.
Following shoulder surgery in the summer to fix a long-running problem, Alonso brought Bellingham back for his first start against Atletico as Los Blancos crumbled.
The coach recognised his error in rushing the Englishman back, and benched him for the next two games until he was ready to shine.
Alonso is also fashioning Turkish playmaker Arda Guler into a midfielder that can supplant the departures of stalwarts Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.
The Spaniard wants to make his Anfield return an unhappy one for the hosts and prove his Madrid machine can compete for major silverware again as they continue to fit his mould.
