When Xabi Alonso was sacked back in January not many expected Castilla manager Alvaro Arbeloa to be the man to take over, but that's who Florentino Perez went with to mixed results. The club announced on Tuesday Arbeloa's departure from Real Madrid with many wondering if he will continue on as a manager elsewhere. And it seems we may have an answer as he has reportedly held talks to take over at this Premier League club.
As being reported by David Ornstein on X, Fulham have held talks with Alvaro Arbeloa about their head coaching vacancy following the departure of Marco Silva to Benfica. The 43-year-old is officially on the market after leaving Real Madrid, and has recently met with Fulham officials about the possibility of taking over at Craven Cottage.
Craven Cottage to be Arbeloa's new home?
It seems we have a bit of a manager mary-go-round on our hands this summer between Real Madrid, Benfica, and Fulham, with Jose Mourinho leaving Benfica for Real Madrid, Marco Silva leaving Fulham for Benfica, and now the possibility of Arbeloa leaving Real Madrid for Fulham, it goes without saying this was definitely not something on anyone's bingo card.
When looking at the whole picture Arbeloa's time in charge at Real Madrid wasn't great. Seen as a good club man, the Spaniard was appointed following Xabi Alonso's sacking in January and was meant to bring stability amid dressing room unrest, however it seems the dressing room is even more broken now than it was when he took over and the play on the pitch wasn't much better either.
His first game in charge was a loss in the Copa del Rey to Segunda Division side Albacete, knocking Real out of the competition. He managed to win 13 of his 19 La Liga matches, drawing two and losing four, as well as winning five of his eight Champions League matches, losing the other three. He failed to makeup any ground on leauge leaders Barcelona and was eliminated by Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals, so while he did string together a couple good wins, it simply wasn't good enough for Real Madrid.
But that doesn't mean he won't work out at Fulham. Real Madrid being his first head coaching role is the almost the definition of getting thrown into the deep and and hoping to swim, so maybe he'll find more success at a smaller club where the pressure isn't as high as it is at the Bernabeu. Fulham would be a great place for Arbeloa to develop his game as a manager before taking the next step in his career to a bigger club when the time is right, instead of getting thrown into the fire like he was at Real Madrid.
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