Will Xabi Alonso risk his job tonight at San Mames? According to Real Madrid, no. According to the coach himself, no. Does this mean that the hypothetical defeat against Athletic Bilbao prevents his dismissal completely? If we pay attention to … Heroes, yes. Then, if the Whites happen to fall to Valverde’s team, we’ll see if events turn out as they say.
Alonso commented yesterday in the Valdebebas press room: “I spoke with the president again these days and the conversations were positive and in a good tone.” He did so in a question in which he was also asked if he thought his position in Bilbao was at stake. Passabalabra
He also got rid of another serious question when he tried to find out what was on his mind when he read some information that talked about alternatives to the Madrid bench: “It is not a question for me,” Alonso said. The same answer he used for possible reinforcements in the winter market: “My command is the field, and there I look at the short term. To San Mames.
This short term that only occupies Xavi’s mind has many fronts open. Real Madrid arrives at San Mames after another disastrous defensive match, an invisible midfield and an attack that hangs on the genius of Mbappe. Or Vinicius. At Montilivi, Xavi warmed up Gonzalo for over thirty minutes only to finally take him off in the 90th minute. One of those substitutions for which Ancelotti was heavily criticized. It has little defense.
The changes in recent matches show a certain fear in Xavi of receiving a face from a sacred cow
Xavi’s body asked him to put “9” to occupy an area free of Real Madrid players, and he was putting it off throughout the second half because his entry, of course, would have meant sending Valverde, Bellingham, Vinicius or Mbappe to the bench. Lose, or draw, it is not easy to take a child’s sacred cow out of the quarry, but such is the courage that, among other virtues, Alonso is supposed to have signed up for. In the end, Gonzalo came off late and was replaced by Trent, the full-back and the team’s theoretically best centre-back: “In the Club World Cup, Gonzalo had a great performance, showed great form, scored goals… Now he doesn’t have all the minutes he probably deserved, but in the World Cup Kylian was not available. He’s a very smart boy, he knows his place. The important thing is that you are always prepared.”
Gonzalo’s change was not the only political change against Girona. He sent Camavinga to play on Guler’s bench, fearing that Judd would feel left out, as happened after the 5-2 win at the Metropolitano. Bellingham who played on Sunday in the double pivot alongside Tschoameni and whose performances, with the exception of the matches against Barcelona and Valencia, have been far from Bellingham’s best.
Xavi knows better than anyone that there are players who are untouchable, and they shouldn’t be at the moment. Insisting on them so as not to create a bad atmosphere in the locker room is a decision that will probably end well. Or maybe not. But what is not up for debate is the decision he would not have made at Leverkusen, where merit was his hallmark.
And in this void of identity in which Alonso is immersed, the Athletic team comes to the fore, with its season amidst questions, like Madrid’s, but with the good news that Nico, their franchise footballer, seems to have already overcome his general problems. In San Mames, Real Madrid achieved five consecutive victories in La Liga until last season, with a score of 2-1. A defeat that, if repeated, will test the patience with which Real Madrid has dealt with not sacking Xavi, regardless of what happens at San Mames.