Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso spoke at a press conference on the eve of the match against Pachuca.
Real he wants to see : “It's a match that will be intense, we want to win, it's a short competition. We want to have better sensations, we want to make a more complete match with and without a ball.”
Vinicius received criticism, it looks like he lost a smile : “I do not think that it is necessary to recover it, I can see it, but we want to push so that it is decisive as it was so often. He has an unpredictable football which makes him a different player. When he can connect to the field with his essence, he is fundamental.”
Debate on if a creative environment is missing : “For the moment, we are focused on the World Cup, we don't think so much about how to improve the team. But yes, I think we can have a dominant environment with different profiles. I am convinced, it will come over time.”
How is Mbappé : “He's better, he got out of the hospital and he recovers. We are more confident every day to come back to Salzburg.”
The role of Gonzalo: “He can bring what he brought the other day. He is an attacker who can be a reference point, he has had three opportunities in addition to the goal. It is important. We will see in the future because for the moment, we focus on competition.”
Is the locker room anxious? “This is not at all what I perceived. I perceived a desire to improve, to do things differently because a new coach has happened. It agitates everyday life but I note ambition, positive calm.”
Improve sensations? “Yes, I said it the other day. The first period was not good, we did not produce what we wanted to produce. It was better in the second. We don't want to repeat the same half but we have little time so to prioritize is important.”
🗣️ Xabi Alonso: “Arda Güler is very special, against the east ball and more touch of, more will help the team.” 🤍 pic.twitter.com/O7E76LwGri
— REAL MADRID FANS 🤍 (@AdriRM33)
June 21, 2025
What role for Güler: “He is a special player who must be at the heart of the game, touch a maximum of balloons.”
The Xabi coach would like to have an Xabi Alonso Player? “The challenge is to make our players in the middle control the game well.”
What role does video in your work have?
“It's fundamental today. Sometimes you can't train much because players have to recover, it's hot so we make the afternoons more productive as well.”
Rudiger is ready? “Yes, he received the green light. We will gradually go but we are happy because he will be important.”
Who will draw the penalties? “We will decide it before each match, we will choose but it will also depend on who is on the field.”
Ceballos did not play in the first match: “We have discussed in recent days, he can bring us a lot of things, he has quality, an understanding of the game. He did not play the other day but he will have a role during the season, we are counting on him.”
Will Tchouameni often play central? “It is a fundamental pillar of the workforce, by its weight, its different functions and it constantly makes small decisions that help the collective. It wants to be important, improve and they are good pre-discositions.”
Trent in the middle, a solution? “He did it in Liverpool, with England. He is not just a side glued to his line, he can play more axial.”
What tactic? “We had little but we will try to look for the solutions. We want to be flexible, understand that doing according to the opponent, the time of the match …”
Your coach models? “I absorbed all the major coaches but then you must feel it, be authentic because if you don't feel things, it's very difficult to transmit to players.”
