NOBODY played more matches with new Real Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa than Xabi Alonso.
Across 262 matches for Liverpool, Real Madrid, and Spain the pair racked up over 20,000 minutes on the field together.
That is the equivalent of spending almost two weeks of their life on a football pitch during matches, let alone the time at the training ground and when chilling as friends.
But don’t expect Arbeloa to be the same type of head coach as Alonso, who was sacked on Monday after just 34 games in charge.
Alonso, 44, was on the verge of being axed before Christmas having fallen out with some of his players and never truly managed to impose himself back at Santiago Bernabeu.
His old mate Arbeloa, 42, has been plucked from Madrid’s academy set-up to fill the role.
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Compared to Alonso, who had won the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen as undefeated champions, only losing one match all season – the Europa League final – Arbeloa is a relative novice.
He has been involved at Madrid for over seven years since retiring at West Ham as a player in 2017, but most of that has come in the junior ranks.
The former right-back has been mightily successful since going into academy coaching with Los Blancos, winning five trophies in as many years across multiple age groups, including the treble in 2022/23.
Arbeloa was most recently at Real Madrid Castilla, the club’s B team but still has no senior experience behind him.
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That did not stop Zinedine Zidane from leading Madrid to unprecedented European dominance in the late 2010s, mind.
Zidane also went from Castilla to Champions League, but also has the prestige of being one of the best players of his generation.
Alonso went through Real Sociedad’s B team before landing the Leverkusen gig and also had a higher standing as a player, although Arbeloa was perhaps underrated in a team of stars.
Like Alonso, Arbeloa also worked under some of the biggest names in the sport.
He played most under Jose Mourinho in Madrid (122 appearances) with Rafa Benitez second on that list (102 over spells at Liverpool and briefly Madrid).
Carlo Ancelotti is further down, whilst Manuel Pellegrini is also there.
Arbeloa had little overlap with Zidane but nevertheless did have sessions and a few matches from the French icon.
So what does this suggest Arbeloa will do with the side when he gets down to business with Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, and Vinicius Jr?
Well, a 2015 interview with The Independent might be the best insight away from scouring the tapes of Madrid’s various kids teams.
In it, Arbeloa said of Mourinho, who he idolises and admires: “He was like a bullet-proof vest for the players.
“If someone was picked on by the critics he was the first to defend him.
“He fought against the fixture list; against the kick-off times if he thought they went against us; or against a referee if he thought he had been unfair to Real Madrid.
“He fights for the interests of the team without bothering about the fact that in the end his image is damaged because of it – he gets labelled as the moaner.”
And whilst Arbeloa is a big fan of Benitez as well, he was extremely praising of Mourinho, an old rival.
He added: “What no one takes into account when they judge Mourinho’s time in Spain is that perhaps if he had not come to Madrid when he did, [Pep] Guardiola would have kept on winning [with Barcelona].
“We were up against a team that a lot of people talk about as being, if not the best, then certainly one of the best in history.
“And he was up against a coach like Guardiola who could have been at the club for 25 years like [Sir Alex] Ferguson at United – that’s how perfect a fit he was for the club – but Mourinho was capable of bringing them down from the mountain.
“He doesn’t get enough credit for that.”
With Madrid running through his veins, Arbeloa told Coaches’ Voice in 2023: “We don’t go out on the pitch simply to win. We go out to fulfil a dream: to play for Real Madrid.”
He has also been demanding of what he wants his teams to do. Arbeloa continued: “Now, from my perspective as a coach, I think the main objective of a manager is that your team has lots and lots of chances.
“That is, to maximise your chances in a game, and minimise the opposition’s opportunities.
“If my team has a lot and the opponent has few chances, the coach is doing a good job.”
That may well be music to the ears of Mbappe and Co with Alonso’s more structured style not appearing to go down well inside the dressing room.
And Arbeloa has also taken bits from the great Ancelotti, one of football’s best ever man-managers.
He explained: “Carlo has always been noted for his guiding hand and his ability to lead the group.
“However, and I think unfairly, that ignores his great tactical profile.
“As a good Italian, Carlo has a great command of defensive organisation.
“This is something that served me well as a player, and now serves me well as a coach. I learned this from him.”
Arbeloa finished: “My main priority now as the Real Youth A coach is the same as it has been for all of the coaches I had in my career: to develop players so that they can reach their full potential.
“There is a phrase that I always repeat to them before every game: “You have to play at full throttle from minute 1 to minute 90.’
“I don’t care if we are winning by one goal, two or three. Drawing or losing.
“They have to be demanding of themselves every single second.
“Only then will they have a chance to complete the journey: to reach pitch number one at Ciudad Real Madrid.
“The place where the first team trains.”
Arbeloa’s chance has come earlier than many expected after Alonso’s appointment in the summer.
It was the ex-midfielder, who also impressed Guardiola at Bayern Munich, who was meant to be the new face of Madrid as a bright, young boss.
Arbeloa has taken that step and does so with Madrid DNA running through him.
His youth sides have kept a four-man defence, mostly turning to a 4-3-3, which is different to that of Alonso, who had to shift from his preferred 3-4-2-1 at Bayer.
The 4-3-3 and 4-4-2 were both staples of Madrid under Ancelotti, but Arbeloa has been described as bolder and more entertaining as a coach at Madrid than others.
As is always the case at Madrid, that will mean little if results don’t follow.
Arbeloa knows that as well as most and has been trained under some all-timers.
Alonso does not leave big shoes to fill for his pal but with shadows of Mourinho, Zidane, and Ancelotti, someone who can be a blend of the three has their merits.
