On June 19th, Real Madrid played a highly-anticipated friendly at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, USA.The match attracted more than 60,000 spectators, which was even hotter than when Lionel Messi’s Miami International team played the opening match of the Club World Cup here.
It was Real Madrid’s first game under new manager Xavi Alonso.He faced Riyadh Crescent from the Saudi League.Despite the warm atmosphere, the result of the match was not ideal – the two sides ended up shaking hands 1-1.
It was certainly a less than ideal start for the newly appointed Alonso.But realistically, the new manager faces more challenges than just a draw.
New recruits are average, and the defense has obvious holes.
Real Madrid’s new signing Trent Arnold played only 65 minutes in this match before being substituted due to his poor form.He lost possession on the field as many as 12 times, the most in the team.There were a couple of good passes and one successful cross, but the overall performance showed that Arnold had not fully adapted to the team’s rhythm.
Other players also had mixed performances.In the 34th minute of the first half, Rodrigo delivered an assist and 21-year-old Gonzalo Garcia added the first goal for Real Madrid.But just seven minutes later, Raul Asensio pulled down an opponent in the box and the referee awarded a decisive penalty, which Ruben Neves calmly took to make it 1-1.
In the second half, substitute Güller had a hit on the crossbar, but unfortunately could not change the score.In the final stages of the game, Fran Garcia was hit in the face by an opponent while scrambling in the box, and the referee awarded another penalty to Real Madrid.This time, however, Valverde missed the penalty for the first time in an official match, as his shot was parried away by the opposing goalkeeper.
This result made a lot of fans feel disappointed.After the game, Alonso said: “We have done well, there are also areas that need to be improved.We did play more aggressively in the second half of the game.But we’ve only trained three times and it will take time to get to the ideal state.”
Young lineup debuts, inexperience is a shortcoming
The average age of Real Madrid’s starting lineup in this match was only 24 years and 300 days, which is the youngest starting combination in a new manager’s first match since the 2009-2010 season.
Mbappe didn’t make his debut due to a fever and has been resting at the hotel, not even eating much.He was replaced by Gonzalo Garcia, who was in fine form.In the backline, Heysen, Fran Garcia and Arnold started together, a combination that was a big change from last season.
While the young players were scrappy, they clearly lacked in experience and consistency.Throughout the game, Real Madrid had a slight advantage in possession (52%) and more shots on goal than their opponents (19 to 13), but did not put on an overwhelming performance.
In less than 20 minutes, Riyadh Crescent nearly broke through through a quick counterattack, but the goal was disallowed due to offside, so Real Madrid avoided falling behind early.
Arnold still needs to adapt, tactical adjustments are underway.
As one of the most notable additions this summer, Arnold’s performance naturally came under scrutiny.He attempted many passes and organized attacks on the field, but made many mistakes.Especially in the defensive end, he was broken or robbed by the opponent many times.
Post-match scoring showed that Arnold scored just above Asensio, who was in a slump, among the defenders, indicating that his help to the team was not obvious enough.
Courtois mentioned in an interview, “Four days is too short, it’s hard to change the habitual style of play formed in the last four years.”This statement actually points to a key issue: the players are still adapting to Alonso’s new system.
Alonso wants Real Madrid to play more aggressive soccer, such as high pressing and more aggressive pressing up front.These concepts have already paid off when he coached Leverkusen.But the problem now is that the players are still in the bonding stage, and their understanding and execution of the new tactics still needs to be improved.
Reinforcements are not yet complete, and the squad still needs to be strengthened.
This summer, Real Madrid’s action in the transfer market is not big.Apart from the signing of Arnold, there is no news of more heavyweight reinforcements yet.The recent rumor of a possible signing of Argentine 17-year-old Mastantono has not yet been officially announced.
Alonso mentioned the youngster in his press conference and said that a player of his age has a chance to establish himself at Real Madrid.This also shows that Alonso is interested in promoting more youngsters to the first team.
But at the same time, he is also well aware of the difficulty of relying only on the existing lineup to cope with the double-line pressure of La Liga and the Champions League in the new season.
Looking back at last season, the reason why Ancelotti failed to lead the team to achieve ideal results is largely due to too many injuries, the depth of the squad is not enough, coupled with the winter transfer window no action, resulting in a weak team.
Now Alonso is facing a similar, if not more difficult, situation.He wants to bring in a proper center forward, even if it’s just a player like Lucas Vazquez who can play as a guest striker.In addition, he needs a player who can control the tempo in the midfield, a role like Kroos.
But for now, it seems that club president Florentino has not given a clear answer.With the new season kicking off on August 17th, there is not much time left for Real Madrid to make adjustments.
Stressful trip to the Bernabeu
In Real Madrid, the coach is not the one who has the absolute say.In many cases, the transfer operations are decided by the president himself.This is also the reason why many good coaches find it difficult to coach for a long time at Real Madrid.
Carlo Ancelotti, as a meritorious veteran coach, did not end up well.Now it’s Alonso’s turn to take over this historic powerhouse, and the pressure on him can be imagined.
One game doesn’t tell the whole story, but this draw does expose a lot of hidden dangers.If the next few warm-up matches or official matches still fail to show enough competitiveness, then Alonso’s position will become more and more dangerous.
All in all, Real Madrid is now in a period of transition.Player renewal, tactical style adjustment, management support, are the key factors to determine the future success or failure.Alonso’s appointment may bring some new weather, but the real test has just begun.
