Real Madrid are due to raise the curtain on a new era under Xabi Alonso at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday evening, as they take on Osasuna in his first match in front of the fans. After a preview of what we might see in the Club World Cup this summer, Football España joins CNN and Amanda Davies on World Sport to discuss their fresh start.
Los Blancos have spent €167.5m in the transfer market this summer, without significant sales, their biggest outlay since before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019. In have come Alvaro Carreras, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dean Huijsen and Franco Mastantuono, who is generating plenty of excitement in the Spanish capital, but now Alonso will be charged with fitting it all together.
Alonso switched between 4-3-3 and 3-5-2 formations during the Club World Cup, and Football España Editor Ruairidh Barlow explained that the Basque manager will bring a more flexible approach to the Bernabeu. Like any Real Madrid manager though, the period of grace will be limited, even if he is implementing a new identity in the Spanish capital.
Of course part of Alonso’s problem is that he is now facing a refreshed Barcelona under Hansi Flick, and despite their registration drama, appear as well-rounded as they have done since before the pandemic themselves. Last season was the first time that either side had made a clean sweep of four Clasicos in one season.
Showing face against Barcelona will no doubt be near the top of the agenda for Alonso, but he has unique experience of doing so. Under Jose Mourinho, Alonso was a key part of the gargantuan effort to topple Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona. While he would go on to work under the Catalan manager, and take plenty from him, he will be well aware of the battlefield he is walking into.