Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso made an announcement about Enzo Fernandez's future, saying, "Enzo Fernández was left out as it was my own decision shared with the club."
It got me thinking. Chelsea, at least for now, have given the manager enough authority to take big decisions. Alonso has made it clear to them which kind of players he wants and who he does not want in the squad, and Chelsea have listened, and accepted his ideas for the most part, based on reports and what has actually happened.
However, if you look at what happened with Real Madrid, it was completely different from the start to the end.
Back then, he got a few of the signings he wanted, but he also wanted more players. He wanted a midfielder, which would have solved some of the issues Real Madrid still have. He also wanted the players to adapt to his playing style, and accept his demands, which the club did not like.
Xabi Alonso was never allowed to be Xabi Alonso at Real Madrid
Vinicius Junior was subbed off in the Clasico despite playing well, which was probably to keep him fit for the rest of the season, but whatever happened since that point started on that night. Now, at Chelsea, this is a different situation. Enzo is a player who is close to leaving - or at least, he wants to leave - while Vinicius Junior was a player who was never going to leave.
But, my point is that Real Madrid never gave Alonso the authority to be a manager like this. Someone who can make bold decisions and also openly talk about those decisions. The stakes were so high at the club at all times, that it was tough for him to say something risky about such a big star, compared to what Enzo is to Chelsea.
It is really important to keep in mind that this is not the same as the incident with Vini - the point is basically to address the amount of pressure, expectation, player power and board power Alonso had to deal with from day one, which never let him become the coach that we saw at Bayer Leverkusen, and potentially, now at Chelsea as well.
There was always something or the other in the middle of that, and obviously, Real Madrid are a bigger club than both of these teams, which makes sense as to why Alonso was not able to do what he is now doing.
However, if the club wanted actual change, they should have given him a bit more power. Maybe then, the situation would be different. Maybe then, the player power problem would go away. Maybe then, Alonso would have made things work
Alonso had his mistakes, but he was never given the chance to show what kind of manager he could be at Real Madrid, and the things he could have helped change. I guess we will never know.
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