East Rutherford (United States) (AFP) – Xabi Alonso is looking forward to “starting from scratch” with Real Madrid next season after being thrown in at the deep end as coach of the Spanish giants in the Club World Cup. Alonso was given a reality check on Wednesday as Madrid were eliminated 4-0 by European champions Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-final at the MetLife Stadium.
“PSG are a team who have been built over time, whereas we are practically just beginning,” Alonso said after seeing Real Madrid go two goals behind inside nine minutes. It was 3-0 before half-time, and PSG added a late fourth as they advanced to Sunday’s final against Chelsea.
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“We have lots of room for improvement. There are many things that we want to do better,” Alonso added. “We have to be self-critical. This will tell us things for the future that will help us to compete at a much better level than we did today.”
Alonso was appointed at the end of May, taking over from Carlo Ancelotti after a successful two-and-a-half years at Bayer Leverkusen. Real finished as runners-up to Barcelona in La Liga and the Copa del Rey, and went out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals against Arsenal. The Basque technician, a former Madrid player, would have preferred a full pre-season with his squad before being thrust into competitive action, and it was always going to be a big ask for them to beat PSG’s well-oiled machine.
“They are at a very high level and have been since the start of the knockout phase of the Champions League,” Alonso said. “They have shown it again here, and we have to accept it — we are just beginning, learning things about where we want to go and how we are going to get there.”
Real eased into the knockout phase of the Club World Cup despite being held by Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia in their opening game. They then recorded narrow wins over Juventus and Borussia Dortmund prior to Wednesday’s defeat.
– Modric bows out –
Alonso demonstrated his tactical flexibility during the tournament by changing between a back-four and a three-man central defence. Kylian Mbappe was used sparingly and sat out the group stage after being hospitalised with a stomach bug, but there were positives elsewhere. New signings Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen got their first taste of action for the club, and young striker Gonzalo Garcia made a big impression with four goals in the first five matches.
Luka Modric, 39, made his farewell appearance against PSG, bringing down the curtain on a glorious 13-year spell at the club. He is now set to join AC Milan. “This game is the last match of this season, not the start of the next one,” Alonso insisted. “We will take positives away from this. We come away from here a better team, and I am convinced this will help us start next season better.”
Like all the European teams who have gone deep into the Club World Cup, the turnaround into next season will be a quick one. Alonso’s La Liga debut as Real coach is scheduled to be on Tuesday, August 19, at home to Osasuna. Attempts to have the fixture postponed have so far been unsuccessful, meaning there are less than six weeks for the players to have a break and then embark on a full pre-season with their new coach.
Argentine starlet Franco Mastantuono, a 17-year-old attacking midfielder, will arrive from River Plate in time for the new campaign after a transfer fee of around 63 million euros ($74m) was agreed last month. “In August the 2025/26 season begins,” said Alonso. “Things are going to be different. We are starting from scratch.”
© 2024 AFP
