Overview
- Álvaro Arbeloa held his first press conference as Real Madrid coach, saying he is not worried about star egos and emphasizing that the players are driven to win.
- Club leadership is banking on a Zidane-style lift from promoting a former player and B-team coach, with Arbeloa praised internally for modern methods such as using drones in training despite limited first-team experience.
- Arbeloa’s debut comes with little preparation time, with Albacete in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, Levante in La Liga on Saturday and AS Monaco in the Champions League on Tuesday.
- Xabi Alonso acknowledged his departure on Instagram after roughly 232 days in charge following a 2-3 Supercopa final loss to Barcelona, with reports citing poor results, dressing-room strains and a precarious Champions League position.
- Coverage highlighted prior tensions, including a Supercopa post-match scene involving Kylian Mbappé, while Thierry Henry criticized the short leash for Alonso and Jürgen Klopp distanced himself from speculation about the job.