The arrival of Xabi Alonso as a manager starts a new era for Real Madrid, and also for the vast majority of their players. The chance to impress the 43-year-old will be there for those who want it.
And prior to making his bow as Real Madrid head coach in the club World Cup opener against Al Hilal, Alonso spoke about some of his players. According to Diario, he discussed Jude Bellingham, whom he sees as an All-Action football player.
“Jude has the opportunity to cover a lot of the field. He has the soul of a midfielder, he likes to participate, but he has the great quality to arrive. The most important thing is the starting point. Finding him in the right places is going to help us because he has impressive qualities.”
Alonso also briefly spoke about Rodrygo, whose future in Real Madrid has generated a lot of speculation in recent weeks.
“I know what had happened in the last piece, it was not easy for him. He took some time to reset his head and I see him want to enjoy and contribute.”
Last week Real Madrid confirmed the signing of Franco Mastantuono, who will participate later in the summer of River Plate. Alonso gave his thoughts about the 17-year-old, with whom Los Blancos could be confronted during the club World Cup.
“We are happy, he has a fantastic gift and a brutal future. I was impressed by the conversations I had, because of his ambition and adulthood, because things happen to him. We will have him in August and he will be a very important acquisition for the team.”
Alonso will be former teammate Luka Modric only a few weeks before the departure of the Croatian later this summer, and he gave his opinion about reunification with the 39-year-old.
“It's easy with him. We always had a great relationship, friends and now coach player. I love his relationship with the young person, he is a very good influence. We want to enjoy him in these weeks. He is a player of the era, able to squeeze a little more will be a luxury.”
One of the big decisions that Alonso has to make during this first season as a Real Madrid manager will be right back/right-back, on which he also commented. He also expressed pleasure about the start of Trent Alexander-Arnold in the club after his move from Liverpool.
“It is a privilege to have such top players. Trent is more flexible in positions, but Carva has a lot of personality and competitiveness. The first impact of Trent has been very good.”
Alonso also opened his first meeting with Vinicius Junior, with whom he is very enthusiastic to work with in Real Madrid.
“In ten seconds I learned his way of being known and relating. He is very passionate and emotional, you have to be close to him. I like that kind of players. He has a big heart. How to use him better is what we will look for today.”