One major change Xabi Alonso is trying to introduce at Real Madrid – report | OneFootball

After a tumultuous 2024/25 campaign under Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid will be looking to bounce back next season, under the leadership of Xabi Alonso.

The former midfielder is coming on the back of an extremely successful stint at Bayer Leverkusen and is likely to bring with him new ideas.

Alonso, in fact, has already had a massive impact in Real Madrid’s transfers so far this summer and it appears the Spaniard may bring forth huge tactical changes as well.

Xabi Alonso wants high-pressing football

According to AS, Alonso wants to change Real Madrid’s current standard of play, which often sees the team defend in a deep block when they lose the ball.

Instead, Alonso wants Real Madrid to play a more attacking game by pressing ‘reasonably high’. He wants the team to try and win the ball back as soon as they lose it.

This is quite similar to what Hansi Flick has done at Barcelona, adding a more ‘heavy metal’ element to Barça’s game.

Xabi Alonso wants a more high pressing Real Madrid team next season (Photo by Pau Barrena/Getty Images)

Flick has been supremely successful as well, as Barcelona dominated Spanish last season, notably securing the domestic treble.

The report adds that Xabi Alonso also wants to make the team more compact and operate in a narrow lane – a far cry from the width the Real Madrid team is known for.

Playing in a narrow lane does usually help a team turn the ball around quickly and convert goalscoring opportunities, especially if they have players who can pass in between the lines.

It appears Alonso does not want to promote a system where each player presses individually. He wants his team to create multiple pressing blocks by banding together.

Much of Alonso’s initial training sessions were spent professing this ideology. One would expect the Spaniard to add more emphasis to this system as time passes on.

This comes on the back of an earlier report which revealed Xabi Alonso’s strict warning to his players to either defender or remain out of the team.