Xabi Alonso is as stubborn as they come. It isn't always a bad thing, especially when coaching the biggest club in the world; however, Real Madrid fans are seeing their patience wear thin with the club legend.
Real Madrid is second in La Liga, and fifth in the Champions League. All things considered, this isn't an awful standing by any stretch of the imagination. However, for Madridistas, the standards are high. If it's not first, it's basically last.
So far in his tenure as Real Madrid coach, Xabi Alonso hasn't shied away from controversy. He has made some rash decisions, including benching some players that many would have considered pivotal to Real Madrid's future: Vini Jr and Endrick.
However, we must give credit where it's due: there is one squad decision that Xabi Alonso has got spot on.
Jude Bellingham just proved Xabi Alonso right
Against Athletic yesterday, Jude Bellingham was sensational. He played the entire 90 minutes, and dominated the midfield. The Englishman won 13 duels (the most of any player) and had a pass accuracy of 93%.
Jude Bellingham played further back than he is used to playing. He has experience of playing deeper in the midfield, but many would wrongly assume attacking midfield is his best position. It isn't, Jude Bellingham plays better when he's deeper in midfield.
Former England boss Gareth Southgate knew this, and it now looks like Xabi Alonso is growing more confident with Bellingham's new position.
Xabi Alonso had originally planned to use Bellingham in a deeper position, but last night, he was proven right, and this will only give the Spanish coach more confidence to deploy Bellingham here in the future.
Look, we all know that Real Madrid hasn't replaced Toni Kroos. This problem was exacerbated in the summer, when Luka Modric left, too. While Los Blancos did well to cover the cracks in midfield until November, it wasn't sustainable.
They needed someone to step up and command every position in midfield.
Jude Bellingham, despite his age, has the maturity to do this. He is at least the best midfield general that Real Madrid has available right now.
Going forward, expect to see a less attacking Jude Bellingham. This might be unfortunate for Real Madrid fans to hear, because he started his career in the football capital in the final third. However, it is better for everybody involved if Jude Bellingham drops deeper in the midfield.