Overview
- Álvaro Arbeloa was presented as head coach after his promotion from Real Madrid’s B team, with the club invoking the Zidane precedent despite his lack of elite bench experience.
- Arbeloa said he has “no fear of failure” and stressed that only winning counts at Real, while the move follows Xabi Alonso’s dismissal after 232 days.
- Alonso’s exit was attributed in reports to uneven results and internal tensions, including high-profile flashpoints, with the team four points off Barcelona in La Liga and seventh in the Champions League league phase.
- Jude Bellingham publicly rejected claims he opposed Alonso’s methods, calling the reports “a bunch of shit” on his JB5 app and posting thanks to the coach.
- Reactions poured in as Jürgen Klopp distanced himself from speculation and praised Alonso, Thierry Henry called the swift sacking “absurd,” and Bayern’s Christoph Freund labeled it “crazy,” while Arbeloa’s first tests come against Albacete, Levante and AS Monaco over the next week.