Real Madrid's first season with Jose Mourinho back in charge has seen a good start so far, but it will take a lot of this for fans to forget the monstrosity that was the season that finished a few months ago.
It was a season where everything that could go wrong, went wrong. Real Madrid started it off with Xabi Alonso, winning some great matches, including the Clasico against Barcelona. Then, his influence on the team started deteriorating when the whole incident with Vinicius Junior happened.
Soon after that, he was sacked, and Alvaro Arbeloa, who only had half a season to stay in charge of Castilla, had to be brought in to replace Alonso.
Alvaro Arbeloa had a massive task, and he gave Real Madrid his all
It is safe to say Arbeloa did a decent job, and he definitely deserves more respect than waht is given to him.
Arbeloa was thrown into the deep end with some really bad mentalities and habits of these Real Madrid players, and was asked to somehow make it work. He managed to beat Benfica and Manchester City in the knockout stages of the Champions League. He tried his best to incorporate all stars while trying to make them forget about their egos for a second.
Arbeloa then managed to give so many players from Castilla their first minutes for the first team. He gave them opportunities, faith and trust, all of which are desperately required for young players. Real Madrid, as a result, saw the rise of Thiago Pitarch, Manuel Angel, Cesar Palacios and a few others, which was missing from Real Madrid in previous years.
Arbeloa did not have it nailed down. He was not perfect, but he definitely deserved his flowers for helping these young players and managing a terribly disoriented locker room filled with bust-ups and unhealthy habits.
For a manager with no prior experience of handling stars, Arbeloa did a fine job. He was not able to win anything. He wasn't able to get Real Madrid that far into the knockout stages, but he tried hard in a really bad situation, while also making sure that some of the young players at the club got the opportunities others have missed out on.
Now, Arbeloa is at Fulham, and is still helping Real Madrid out. He has signed two players from the club - Gonzalo Garcia and academy talent Palacios - while also trying to sign Manuel Angel before the end of the transfer window.
He is actively giving these talents the minutes they require to succeed in the most competitive league in the world, and it is something that will help Real Madrid, if they ever decide to bring them back down the line.
Arbeloa may not have been the greatest manager to have ever walked at Valdebebas, but he certainly deserves respect for handling such a horrid time at the club as well as he could.
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