After the club’s Supercopa de España defeat to Barcelona, Real Madrid has confirmed the appointment of their former player Álvaro Arbeloa as the new head coach. This comes after the dismissal of Xabi Alonso.
Alonso left after a dramatic 3–2 loss against their Clasico rivals in Sunday’s final in Jeddah, which was the straw that broke the camel’s back for the ex-midfielder, as he was also under a lot of pressure due to dressing-room tensions and inconsistent performances. Alonso, who took over from Carlo Ancelotti before the 2025 Club World Cup, has only been in charge of the team for seven months, leading the team in 34 games with a winning record of 24.
Madrid has relied heavily on ex-players again after the departure of Alonso. Arbeloa, 42, is a home-grown coach as he has been with the club’s coaching staff since 2020. He has worked his way up through the youth system, and after making the last decision of Raúl’s leaving, Arbeloa took over the leadership of the Castilla team last May.
Arbeloa was trained at Madrid’s academy and played with the club in two different periods, a total of 237 games, and he has won multiple titles, such as LaLiga, two Copa del Rey, and two Champions League. Besides that, he has worked closely with Alonso, having been teammates at both Liverpool and Real Madrid.
Arbeloa will take over the team for the first time in a Copa Del Rey match away to Albacete on Wednesday.
