Xabi Alonso receives backing from former teammate – ‘Real Madrid will compete with Barcelona, for sure’ | OneFootball

Xabi Alonso’s effect on Real Madrid is clearly visible despite it being just over a month since he started working regularly with the squad. The team, so far, has looked more fresher, reassured in defence and confident in possession of the ball.

The manager, after all, arrived at the club hoping not only to improve the situation but to revolutionise the style of play and bring a more proactive style of football to the club of his dreams.

Speaking to the media in a recent interview, Mallorca legend and Xabi Alonso’s former Liverpool teammate Alberto Riera was asked in depth about the upcoming game between Los Blancos and his former club and a plethora of other topics.

He began, however, by giving his overall verdict on La Liga where he backed Barcelona over Real Madrid.

“Barcelona and Real Madrid have started strong and I am also liking Villarreal a lot. I think Barça is a clear favourite because it has an advantage in the construction of the team over Madrid.”

On facing Real Madrid

In light of his prediction for the league, Riera was asked if La Liga teams would find Real Madrid to be easier to defeat than Barcelona, to which he said,

“It is very difficult to face either of the two, but Barcelona is a step above. I think they have better adjustments and automatisms than Madrid because they have been together for longer.”

“The new Madrid is in the cooking phase. Sauce is missing and that takes time, but I am convinced that Xabi will do very well and will be successful,” he added.

Remembering his days as a player and his two special wins over Real Madrid with Mallorca boasting of a 4-0 and 5-1 scoreline, he said,

“Both were in 2003. The best memory of mine is the great victory in Madrid due to the impact it had and what it meant to beat the Galacticos in such a forceful way.”

“In addition, I scored our second goal. We had a great team with Novo, Ibagaza, Eto’o, Pandiani and many others and we never went out to speculate. It was an impeccable game,” he added.

Alberto Riera played with Xabi Alonso at Liverpool. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

When asked if such a win for Mallorca or any smaller La Liga side against Real Madrid would not be just a dream, he said,

“Man, football gives surprises, but repeating something like that would be something very fat seeing the dynamics of both teams. Our great advantage, apart from quality, was trust.”

“We were always going to win because we believed a lot in ourselves, it didn’t matter the field or the rival. We didn’t care about Madrid, Barça or any other,” he added.

Praising Xabi Alonso as a coach

The topic of the interview then shifted to Xabi Alonso as his role as the manager of Real Madrid, especially since Riera knew the Spaniard well back in their Liverpool days.

“To be dominant. Xabi, whom I know quite well, wants to win the games by having mastery of the game. He has always been like this, both in the subsidiary of Real Sociedad and in Bayer Leverkusen,” he said when asked what Alonso’s philosophy was.

“That’s his idea. The ingredients vary and in Madrid, they are very good, but their philosophy is to control the game through possession and generate a collective sense,” he added.

The Mallorca legend then went on to assure that Real Madrid would fight as equals with Barcelona and give them a tough fight this season unlike the last campaign where they were outclassed.

“Madrid will compete with Barcelona, for sure. Xabi is in charge of achieving it and will do it. He just landed and his hand is already noticeable.”

“He knows very well where he is, the demands of the club and that he will have to achieve results in addition to playing well. I do not doubt at all its enormous value and I am convinced that he will make it phenomenal,” he added.

Riera was then asked if Alonso could become the Pep Guardiola of Real Madrid, in terms of being the one to bring a new philosophy to the club and revolutionise the style of football.

“He may be, but Guardiola’s bar is very high. He is a reference and has been demonstrating it for years. He is the number one at the level of modern coach, although I recognise the merits of Ancelotti and his titles.”

“Xabi has to make his own career, as the others do, without noticing anyone and with his own style, with which he enjoys and in which he trusts,” he added.

Xabi Alonso backed to come good at Madrid. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

He then admitted that his former teammate did indeed have what it takes to bring such a revolution at the Santiago Bernabeu.

“Of course, of course. He is well-trained for it. He is very intelligent, has very clear ideas and knows how to adapt to everything, which is very important.”

“In the coaches’ course, we learned that you don’t have to be a dictator on the bench and impose ideas by force but convince and explain why you play in a certain way. Xabi is a teacher in that.”

Towards the end of his interview, the former Liverpool star was asked if Alonso had an edge as a manager because he was a great player back in the day.

“Being a good player does not guarantee being a good coach, but if you have been in this world for twenty years it is logical that you have an advantage over others who have not lived it and the chances of succeeding increase,” he said.

Finally, he was asked to give his two cents on Franco Mastantuono and Arda Guler, to which he said,

“I have hardly seen the Argentine [Mastantuono] and I can’t comment, although I’m looking forward to seeing him more for all the wonders I hear about him.”

“Guler has taken an obvious step forward. After a year of adaptation, it’s his turn to be more of a protagonist. He has a lot of quality and now it’s his turn to prove it with the gallons that Xabi has given him,” he added.

Source: AS