Inside Xabi Alonso’s first day as Real Madrid manager

Xabi Alonso has arrived with the “bug.” A term they’ll soon grow familiar with. But he explains it better himself: “Football makes me get up at 2:00 a.m. and start preparing things, because I’m tossing and turning in bed. Until you tie up the loose ends, you can’t rest easy. Once the bug gets into your blood, it doesn’t go away", he told Spanish newspaper, El País.

Well, today, it was 7:30 a.m.… when he showed up at Real Madrid’s Valdebebas training ground. A thermometer, perhaps, for how many loose ends he feels still need tying. He arrived calm, but in a rush. He said hello… and cut the ribbon on his era. Day one.

His eagerness was such that he beat many of the club’s employees through the door. He set the streets alight, as they say—but what he really wants is to turn the team upside down. The players weren’t due until 10:00 a.m., so he spent the morning settling into Ciudad Deportiva and assembling his staff.

Xabi’s backroom staff:

Five players trained with Xabi Alonso during his first session

Llopis, the goalkeeping coach, will stay on. A long tactical meeting followed at Valdebebas—the other meeting of the day. They discussed possible approaches, pinpointing where to focus. There’s no time to work on everything: the team leaves for the U.S. on Saturday, and they’ll only have five sessions at Valdebebas. So it was time to prioritize—and plan.

From there, straight to the locker room, where 15 first-team players awaited. But the list comes with asterisks. Only five were fully fit and available: Lucas Vázquez, Asensio, Fran García, Ceballos, and Rodrygo.

Another six are being handled with care—Courtois, Carvajal, Militão, Alaba, Valverde, and Brahim—doing only light, specific exercises. And four haven’t even stepped on the pitch: Rüdiger, Mendy, Camavinga, and Endrick. That’s the panorama Xabi found on day one.

To reinforce the camp, he’s turned to La Fábrica: Fran González, Mestre, Fortea, Jacobo Ramón, Diego Aguado, Yusi, Chema, Mario Martín, Víctor Muñoz, and Gonzalo. The coaching staff plans to take around 60% of them to the U.S. Some, like Fortea and Gonzalo, are already established. But the main name is Mario Martín, back from his loan at Valladolid.

Alonso’s plan for Real Madrid

On his first day, Xabi made it clear: he wants to rely on homegrown talent. There are diamonds at La Fábrica.

First stop: the locker room, where he greeted the players warmly. Closeness—a word he wants to turn into a tattoo. But the real message would be delivered on the pitch. There, he jogged around, spoke briefly. No major detail yet—that’s reserved for Miami, once the full squad is assembled. But the intent was clear.

He promised to give 200%—and asked the same from his players. After the first session, the mood was described as one of strength and enthusiasm. Those words echoed from within the club.

Tactics? Not much yet. That’s for when more players arrive. Huijsen, Tchouaméni, and Mbappé will join tomorrow. Alexander-Arnold, Bellingham, and Modrić will arrive Wednesday, after England’s final friendly. But there are three he won’t see until the U.S.: Lunin, Güler, and Vinicius are already across the pond, and won’t be called back.

The squad will come together little by little. But Xabi Alonso has already hit the ground running. At 7:30 a.m., he was at Valdebebas. Calm, but in a hurry. He’s got the bug.