Xabi Alonso wants to repair the pressing. That damn urgent. It is one of his top priorities. On his first day – last Monday – he opened his agenda and gathered his staff to decide where to put the scalpel. There was not much time, so choices had to be made.
There would only be five training sessions before the trip to the US – just enough time to put on a screw. But which one? That was the question. After a few hours of meetings there was white smoke: printing. It was not the only problem, but it was the most urgent.
It has probably been the biggest headache of the season. “We are not a balanced team, but we have a lot of quality in advance,” was Ancelotti's diagnosis towards the end of the campaign, immediately after scraping the Copa del Rey final. You cannot change a comma in that statement. That is what Real Madrid has been: unorganized but dripping from talent. And that must change. Because Talent Games wins – but the organization makes it fleeting. That's not the way.
Xabi Alonso wants order. But he needs time – and he doesn't have much. So for these first few days the decision to concentrate on pressing was. With nuance. He does not ask for a very high press, but a medium -sized. Press aggressive when the ball crosses in the last third part. But do it with structure. The rehearsals have already started and will continue in the US, with the entire team available. The plan, as reported, is to iron the mistakes during the group phase. The opponents allow a breathing room on paper. For now.
Madrid will not be a team that just falls deep without the ball. They will attack around 70% of the field. But it must be done well. “We have not been compact all season,” Carletto admitted, visibly shaken in the heart of the Emirates. A night that pierced the heel of their Achilles. Madrid tried to press in the front – but did it badly and constantly exposed himself. It was the clearest example of chaos.
Xabi wants this to be one of the first things to change. If you are going to press in a medium block, do it well. And if you can't – not. It is better not to do it at all than to do it badly. But you have to try it. You have to work on it. And that's not all – feature. What a word. What a key.
Nowadays he drills it in the team: he wants players who bite. And he wants it to be displayed in one specific action – immediately after losing the ball. Let those first seconds be lost after the possession are full of teeth. He wants to see that hunger. Whether the ball has been restored or is not secondary. But try it.
That is something that every player already wears- in their heads, in their game. In his first training session, with 21 players present (although only 15 trained and 10 were youth players), he was clear: he promised to give 200%, in exchange for 200% of each. His part is now more than visible. He gives everything. Maximizing every minute of each session. With exercises to accelerate transitions, Non -Stop demands for intensity – and yes, a constant focus on pressing.
Those are three commandments on the tablets of the law: 1. Press. 2. Intensity. 3. Compactness. Goal: become a coherent unity. Finally. Repair that damn urgent.