Real Madrid will close on May 25 one of the most glorious stages in its history. What Carlo Ancelotti has achieved will be etched in gold letters in the football history books, not only those of the Madrid club.Ancelotti’s record as a Real Madrid player includes three Champions Leagues, three Club World Cups, three European Super Cups, two LaLiga titles, two Copa del Rey titles and two Spanish Super Cups, not counting what might happen in the current LaLiga campaign.
Fifteen titles with which he surpasses the legendary Miguel Munoz. May 25 will be his farewell and Real Madrid will begin a new era under Xabi Alonso. Both Ancelotti and Real Madrid have reached an agreement to put everything on hold in the hope of winning the LaLiga title, but before that, they talked and gave shape to a more than friendly farewell that will culminate with a high-profile farewell for the Italian.
The agreement was reached after the Champions League tie against Arsenal, when the coach and the club’s directors spoke and saw that the best thing for everyone was to go their separate ways. Until then, Real Madrid’s directors had limited themselves to sounding out and studying the market, with Xabi Alonso the protagonist of many of the moves made. Ancelotti knew that he had the Brazilian national team waiting, accelerating from that moment on the contacts initiated, which will lead in the coming days to the signing of an agreement until the 2026 World Cup as head coach of the five-time world champions.
Discover all the corners of Real MadridXabi Alonso, who will sign a three-year contract, knows the current Real Madrid team perfectly. It is true that he left Valdebebas behind in 2019, when he decided that it was time to take the step into professional football, with Sanse as his destination, a team in which he spent three seasons, before joining Bayer Leverkusen in 2022 and winning the Bundesliga and Cup double in 2024. The aspirin club had never won the Bundesliga before, and was able to end Bayern’s dominance that had lasted for eleven consecutive seasons
With assistant and physical trainer
Sebas Parrilla has become indispensable for Xabi Alonso since they met at Valdebebas. Trained in the Rayo Majadahonda youth academy, he then went through the Real Madrid youth system, with a brief spell in Mexico. He was the traveling companion that Real Madrid placed alongside the former midfielder during his time as a coach in the youth academy and from that moment on they have become the perfect pair and the ideal traveling companion for the coach.
Alongside the coach, Alberto Encinas, a fitness trainer who is one of Alonso’s most trusted coaches, will also appear at Valdebebas. With a past at Barcelona in the 2011-2012 campaign, Encinas has worked in the United States and Denmark, among other destinations.
The Pintus mystery
The question now is what will happen to Antonio Pintus, who was in charge of physical preparation during Carlo Ancelotti’s time in charge, but as an employee of the club and not as a member of the Italian’s coaching staff. A new physical trainer is coming to the first team and the truth is that the data and feelings in terms of fitness this season are not the best
Luis Llopis, the club’s goalkeeping coach with whom Ancelotti has worked in full understanding, will remain with the first team. In fact, Llopis coincided at Real Sociedad with Alonso’s time as coach of the San Sebastian reserve team.
Centre-back and midfielder
In the conversations held, Xabi Alonso has understood that signings are made under the control of the club. The coach has had and will have a voice and will be able to suggest, but it is the club that signs, that is to say, everything is done in this sense following the strategy set, the one that has borne fruit, as reflected in Real Madrid’s track record in recent years.
In these conversations, it has become clear that a much-discussed revolution in the squad is not necessary. Firstly, because it is not possible and secondly, because there is confidence in the quality of a group that this season has not been up to the task. The aim is to get a reaction from some players and to raise the standard of performance of players who are expected to make a difference, such as Vinicius and Mbappe, along with Bellingham, whose future lies with the Madrid team.
With Alexander-Arnold already signed and with different moves already made for the arrival of a left-back, the next steps are a central defender (Huijsen as the main alternative), and a midfielder, which would fulfil the coach’s wishes
After the Club World Cup
Real Madrid does not want the Club World Cup to be just another competition and that is why at first it was very difficult for an interim coach to be in charge, but it was understood that it was best for Ancelotti to take charge of the Brazilian national team in June, and that it could be very hard for the Italian if he was not going to continue in charge of the team. The conclusion is that Solari’s presence could perfectly serve as a bridge for the arrival of Xabi Alonso and not to coach players who may not continue after the North American event.
The problem is that there is little time between the end of the World Cup and the start of work for the next season, which will have to be done in the last days of July. It is expected to be a complicated campaign in this respect, as the first official match will come a month after the presumed final of the FIFA tournament.
No problems with Leverkusen
That gentlemen’s agreement that Fernando Carro spoke of, to break the year of contract that remains for the Basque, will mean that the German club will receive something in return. They are two clubs that maintain an excellent relationship, as has been evident with the moves made with Iker Bravo and the youth player Melvin Ukpeigbe.
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