“Real Madrid needs to recruit a striker more than Betis”

How is Alfonso doing on these appointed days?

Like any family, we all come together and spend as much time together as possible. The first part of Christmas was spent with my family and the second with my wife’s. That’s what we do on these dates, spread out, try to have a good time, be with our loved ones.

The year starts with a special match for you, Real Madrid-Betis, with both teams playing a lot and their competitive situation.

That’s how it is. Unfortunately he won’t meet me in Madrid, but I will see him. As always, I’m expecting a very good match, between two great teams who always try to play good football, or at least try, each trying to impose their style and their way of playing. This is ultimately what gives good results, especially at Betis in recent years, with a clear and defined scheme that has been working with Pellegrini for some time. Real Madrid, well… it always has to go out and win everywhere and it is always favorite, or a priori favorite in all the competitions in which it plays, but it will find a strong Betis, which loses little, which bases its good results on this attacking style of play and this pressure from above which has characterized it in recent years. His strength is his way of playing.

So, do Betis have a chance or more options than on other occasions to do damage at the Bernabéu?

Well, winning at the Bernabéu is always complicated. But there are always times when fitness has an impact, and in this case, Real Madrid’s form may invite Betis to take advantage. It is true that at the moment, Real Madrid’s situation is not the best. There is a certain distrust that emanates from the team, possibly from the coach, but Madrid never ceases to be a dangerous team, no matter what; Obviously they have high quality players, very decisive and who, at any time, in any action, can win you a match. Winning at the Bernabéu is always difficult, even if the team is not at its best.

Madrid, beyond the coach and his footballing doubts, is starting to have emergencies in this league. Do you see it like that?

Yes, without a doubt. I am not saying that if they lost to Betis they would have lost the championship, but it is true that it is a very important distance, that not only would they be forced to win almost every game, but in this case FC Barcelona, ​​which is their most direct rival, would have to fail in many areas and lose a lot of points; Then the league would obviously be quite complicated, but above all, we must also take into account the distrust that this would arouse. A defeat at the Bernabéu against Betis, with all that that implies, would, I think, be very decisive, perhaps to the point of affecting the future of the coach.

“When you have to look for a footballer with three attackers (Cucho, Bakambu and Chimy Avila), it’s because something was not done well there”

Alfonso Pérez Munoz

Former Real Betis and Real Madrid player

What’s wrong with Xabi Alonso? The coach plays hard in every match and now loses his top scorer, Kylian Mbappé, to injury.

Well, a priori, it is true that in Germany, he had done rather well with Bayer Leverkusen, a team which had played very good football, which had very good pressing after losing and which had an interesting model of play, very consistent with what Real Madrid wanted and was looking for. They wanted attacking football and with a coach who also knows the house, who was a Madrid player, a footballer in his creative and offensive moment. But then the results are sent. Maybe there is something internal that escapes us, that we cannot control, there is surely an internal problem in the locker room, but hey, I also think that they are missing a squad, they are missing players, players in key positions. In my opinion he needs a center forward and an attacking midfielder. Now he shoots with what he has, he gets the best out of matches, but I believe that in a championship or, rather, in such a long year and with so many competitions, every time Mbappé catches a cold, like now, Real Madrid could have a serious problem.

Do you think you should attend the January market?

At the moment, I don’t know to what extent Real Madrid will have to recruit players to strengthen the squad; This means you had poor planning. That said, if Real Madrid are interested in a player, they have the financial solvency to be able to sign anyone, but it is not easy to take a player who, in theory, must play as the undisputed starter for his team. I don’t think Real Madrid are going to opt for a replacement or a player coming back from a serious injury and looking for minutes. For this it was necessary to have had very exhaustive monitoring of the players who were worth it for Real Madrid. It’s not easy to take the star of a team or an important player now and bring him to Real Madrid this January.

Does the proximity of the Super Cup also affect Sunday’s match between Madrid and Betis? Four days later, they will play a semi-final against Atlético.

Yes, obviously. It’s another competition in which Madrid always has a chance of winning, although I think at the moment it’s more about giving a good image, getting good results, gaining confidence, so that the coach asserts himself and is able to dispel the general distrust that exists at Real Madrid. Everyone has a bug behind their ears. We’ll see what happens, but, of course, it’s still very important as a title.

At Betis, the team is very lively on all fronts. He is looking at different positions in the January market, but is openly looking for a striker.

There, the sports management and the technical secretariat are those who best know the status of each player in the team, what they can give and where the team can be strengthened and find this solution. In any case, I am not in favor of signings on this winter market. Except in certain cases. If you have a serious injury to a player who is going to be off the field for a long time, I understand that there is the possibility of going on the market. Or by a player who for whatever reason wants to leave and disrupts your squad a little. But I have one thing clear, when you have to look for a footballer with three attackers (Cucho, Bakambu and Chimy Avila), it is because something was not done well. Added to this is the financial difficulty of being able to recruit a good player from another team to bring him to yours. This happens because there is something that is poorly planned and should have been seen before so as not to have to quickly search and run now to the winter market. It happens to Madrid and it happens to Betis. To many teams. But I also tell you that Real Madrid clearly need a center forward more than Betis, who have three natural center forwards, so to speak.

Do you like, for example, Fabio Silva for Betis?

My son tells me it’s very good. He’s the one who’s really in control, he’s always attentive to everything and says he’s a very interesting striker, with very good looks. You know, today’s children master the information that sometimes surprises us with football and the players (laughs). For example, he says to me ‘dad, there is a player at Crystal Palace as a striker who…’ and I am hallucinating, I say ‘but how can you watch these matches, if it is already difficult for me to watch the Spanish League?’. He sees everything, whether it’s the Premier, the Second Division, I have the sports director at home. I watch football all day, much more than I try to watch Madrid, Betis, Barcelona, ​​but nothing else.