Álvaro Arbeloa: The Unlikely Coach of Real Madrid
Exactly 236 days ago, Álvaro Arbeloa was coach of Real Madrid’s third team, who’d just lost in the U19 Cup semifinal to Valencia and tied in the league with Atlético Madrid on 75 points. Not necessarily rocket-fuel stuff to propel a man to the Bernabéu hot seat in charge of Vinícius Júnior, Kylian Mbappé, and Jude Bellingham, right? However, as fate would have it, Arbeloa’s fortunes were about to take a dramatic turn.
Apart from a couple of dustups on the touchline with Atlético’s youth coach, World Cup-winning Spain teammate Fernando Torres, Arbeloa was largely a forgotten man, hidden from media scrutiny and not quoted, in anyone’s wildest dreams, as potentially the next coach of Los Blancos’ senior team. Then, that same day, club legend Raúl González quit as coach of Real Madrid’s B team, and Arbeloa felt club president Florentino Pérez’s tap on the shoulder. One step up the ladder.
Four defeats in his first five matches in charge of Real Madrid Castilla, then a 4-1 thrashing by tiny Basque club Arenas on January 10, set himself up for a night on the sofa watching the Clásico Supercopa final. Some might speculate that this ultra-Madridista would have been wearing Madrid pajamas, scarf, his strip from the 2014 UEFA Champions League-winning season, and even a pair of old boots — but I couldn’t possibly comment.
We all know what happened next: Xabi Alonso was dismissed from his position in charge of the first team, replaced by Arbeloa. The news sent shockwaves throughout the football world, with many questioning the decision to appoint a relatively inexperienced coach to one of the most high-pressure jobs in the sport.
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After an absolutely tumultuous few days in the most coveted coaching position anywhere in the world of football, Arbeloa, whose head must be reeling, sits only a point off the top of the league, can pretty much seal a top-eight slot in the Champions League by propelling his team to victory against AS Monaco on Tuesday, and then turn to his detractors and say, “Crisis? What crisis?”
Arbeloa’s Lucky Break
It’s generally held that it was the mighty French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte who commented, cynically, “I’d rather have lucky generals than good ones.” Speaking of emperors, perhaps that’s a thought running through Pérez’s mind right now as the knife-edge situation at Real Madrid hinges both upon whether Arbeloa, promoted above his readiness, can produce the goods and whether, or not, he’s a lucky guy.
For example: Arbeloa’s tenure began with a Copa del Rey defeat of monstrously embarrassing proportions, against relegation-threatened second-division Albacete. There’s absolutely no way of painting the performance positively, nor, by any possible stretch of the imagination, should anyone suggest that there was deliberate intention in Los Blancos’ abrupt exit from a competition that, in winning, guarantees a path straight into next season’s lucrative Supercopa.
Nor did Arbeloa’s defiant words, which he repeated post-defeat at Albacete and before Saturday’s LaLiga match, that “I wouldn’t change any of my decisions” go down well. They were tagged as obstinate, lacking in awareness, rather than brave or “sticking to principles.” Such is the nature of sports-media patience and understanding if there’s a whiff of blood in the water.
But, and mark my words here, not being in the Copa could, without any doubt, and although unwanted, become a huge bonus for this scarred, under-siege, and wobbling Real Madrid setup.
Arbeloa, not without criticism from the watching hawks in the media and fanbase, has reinstated drill-sergeant fitness coach Antonio Pintus. Talented though the Italian most certainly is, he has earned a reputation for working players brutally hard.
We live in a time when finessing footballers to fitness, rather than subjecting them to Marine Corps physical extremes, is the new, essential norm. Pintus, in metaphorical terms, will be a “kill or cure” remedy for what is a huge lack of petrol in the engine of Arbeloa’s squad.
A Lucky Break in Disguise
His key players have had two abominably short preseasons (you couldn’t even call them training camps, more like training glimpses), and Madrid genuinely haven’t given a 98-minute (90 plus added time) dominant display all season where they boss a game and don’t dip — mentally and physically — but is the way to sort that by running their legs off in January? You’d certainly have thought not.
Well, step forward, Albacete.
Was it good general-ship by Arbeloa to leave behind players such as Mbappé, Bellingham, Thibaut Courtois, and Aurélien Tchouaméni for a debut match against hungry, nothing-to-lose minnows who might bite like piranhas? No. But…
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Barcelona threw everything at their cup tie, went through, and then flopped in LaLiga on Sunday. Madrid found extra power and goals in the second half against Levante and closed the gap at the top from four points to one.
Moreover, Arbeloa’s playing group now has more time to train, more time with Pintus, more time to recuperate, and an avenue for the demanding Italian to… demand more from guys who might just get the physical and mental boost necessary to better prepare them for bigger trophy shots toward the end of the season.
If, and this is a very big if, Madrid win the title or somehow lift yet another Champions League in Budapest, boasting renewed stamina, sharpness, and carrying Pintus around the field of victory in gratitude, then you don’t need me to tell you that nobody will be ranting on about defeat at Albacete. I think the Champions League scenario, in particular, is a little unlikely, but watch this space.
Not good general-ship, but maybe lucky? Elimination has offered up opportunities.
A Counter Case
But there’s obviously a strong counter case. The monstrous whistling, jeering, and vocal protests aimed at certain players, and the haughty president, before and during Madrid’s 2-0 win over Levante was as startling, as loud, as angry, and as flagrant as I can ever remember at the Bernabéu stadium in nearly 24 years working in Spain.
Pérez — indeed, all billionaires who’re used to winning in life — takes badly to any kind of reverse, however small, and public humiliation like that can spark deep and dangerous rage.
Again, what good luck for Arbeloa that the team that looked like at least a match for Madrid in the first half is one that is on its second coach of the season, that had sparse resources, and that, as soon as his players upped the tempo, was overwhelmed. Had the fixture calendar thrown up a different test — away to a
