Xabi Alonso’s key objective – restore the best version of three Real Madrid stars | OneFootball

On Monday, Real Madrid will start their shortened pre-season under new manager Xabi Alonso ahead of the start of the 2025/26 campaign.

The Spanish tactician took over the reins of the team in June and led them to a semi-final run at the FIFA Club World Cup.

Having gotten a good look at the squad and his players, Alonso has set himself a major objective, according to Tomas Gonzalez-Martin on El Debate.

Indeed, the Real Madrid manager has a clear goal – to help Vinicius Jr., Rodrygo Goes, and Raul Asencio recover both their footballing form and mental focus.

Vinicius has been below his level

The chatter around Vinicius of late has been of that his salary demands and stalled renewal talks with Real Madrid. The 25-year-old has become too entangled in his contract situation while talks about his future and the Ballon d’Or snub have contributed to him losing focus.

As such, Alonso wants him to separate performance from the contract negotiations with a simple message – focus on football, play well first, and everything else will follow.

Vini and Rodrygo have been below their best. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)

There is also a feeling that the internal rivalry with Kylian Mbappe has affected Vinicius’ performance. Alonso wants to reset that mindset. He will stress the importance of physical commitment and defensive work in his system.

Rodrygo must regain relevance amid exit talks

As for Rodrygo, there has been endless speculation about a departure from Real Madrid, but nothing has come of it thus far. The 24-year-old forward insists he wants to stay but continues to listen to offers from the Premier League.

The speculations have stemmed from his decline in form and prominence in the team over the past few months. As it stands, Mbappe Vinicius, and even Gonzalo Garcia are ahead of him.

It is not entirely ruled out that Rodrygo ends up staying at Real Madrid, and if he does, Alonso will push him hard to rediscover his speed, dribbling, and creativity while also asking him to show more in his off-ball work.

Confidence crisis for Asencio

As for Asencio, he is going through a crisis in confidence after making high-profile errors, including unnecessary penalties, exposing flaws in his decision-making.

Asencio struggled at the Club World Cup. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Alonso gave him responsibility at the Club World Cup but the youngster let the team down and apologised for his errors.

Now, Alonso has made it a task to rebuild Asencio’s confidence. He will speak with him to assess his mental state. The coach needs players who believe in themselves and the The goal is to restore his assuredness and erase any doubts in his mind.

Alonso plans to meet individually with all three players once the squad returns to training on Monday and from thereon, it remains to be seen how things progress.