Real Madrid just announced Xabi Alonso’s departure, and of all the things there are to say, despite the suddenness of the move, one that came without any warning, Xabi had it coming.
Now, after the weekend’s loss to Barcelona, the second final defeat to their rivals in back to back seasons, Xabi’s fate was all but sealed. The fans knew that with every passing loss, this new manager who had just been appointed would be the one to fall on the sword.
Xabi arrived as a promising manager who had just shocked the world in the Bundesliga. He was the dream manager for many. The world fought for his signature. When Los Blancos came calling, he had to go.
The start to his tenure was fairly good. Sharp tactics and a visible display of change in the way the team played. Perhaps that change was expected sooner than Xabi had promised, and that is where the problems began to emerge.
Everyone knows the real reason Xabi Alonso left Real Madrid
Xabi was a rigid manager. Rigid not to suggest stubbornness, but a relentless need to achieve no matter what, come what may. He did not want to control egos; he wanted to shatter them, and that is where he failed.
He envisioned bringing radical change into a locker room that had grown far too comfortable in its mediocrity. A locker room that was self-absorbed and unwelcoming of change. Sure, his tactics failed on several occasions, but was he ever given the liberty to fix it all? Doubt it.
We need to remember the words Zinedine Zidane spoke after leaving in his second stint, and Xabi suffered the same fate. Hunger for achievement is one thing, but imposing it so aggressively that there is no trust in the project is another. The two cannot coexist.
It became painfully obvious, even visible, that Xabi was losing his grip on the players. Kylian Mbappé, Vinicius Jr, and others. These were egos that could not handle the demand for radical change and instead brewed chaos from within.
Fans wish Álvaro Arbeloa the best in taking the job, but do not see how he can fix what Xabi could not, because this is not a problem on the pitch. It is an issue that festers deep within the locker room.
A manager promoted from the academy cannot annihilate egos better than a manager who had just set Europe ablaze.
Hopefully, that's proven wrong. But for now, the club is wrong for submitting to the noise. Xabi Alonso was destined for something else, not this.