Arbeloa will bring a bit of Mourinho back to Real Madrid
Editor’s note: this article was originally published in Spanish and has been translated
Álvaro Arbeloa has never coached a first-team match in his career, but he takes his place on the Real Madrid bench as Xabi Alonso’s successor following his success with the club’s youth academy. The former Madrid and Spain defender was in charge of the club’s B team, Castilla, until Monday and takes over the position after Alonso’s sacking with the backing of club president Florentino Pérez.
Several sources have told ESPN that Arbeloa did not entirely convince the Madrid board due to his lack of experience at the elite level, but he does have the backing of the president. Other candidates such as Santiago Solari, Zinedine Zidane, and Jürgen Klopp were also linked, but Arbeloa was the leading candidate to replace Alonso following the defeat to Barcelona in the Supercopa.
The 42-year-old has a great relationship with Pérez and is highly regarded within the club. With Madrid four points behind LaLiga leaders Barcelona at the midway point of the season, Madrid trust Arbeloa’s personality and ability to turn the team’s situation around, beginning with Wednesday’s Copa del Rey round-of-16 trip to Albacete (stream LIVE at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN+ in the U.S.).
– Alonso wasn’t perfect, but sacking him ignores Madrid’s real problems
– How Alonso’s Madrid tenure compared with Mourinho, Ancelotti, Zidane
– Barça’s thrilling win over Madrid in Supercopa spelled end for Alonso
What kind of coach is Arbeloa?
Arbeloa stands out for being a daring, proactive coach who favors attacking football. He usually plays a 4-3-3 formation with a defensive pivot and two midfielders who are skilled with the ball and have good vision.
What has characterized Arbeloa most during his years at La Fábrica, the club’s academy, has been his commitment to young talent. He has not been concerned with the age or track record of his players, and one such example is midfielder Thiago Pitarch. Arbeloa promoted him to the Juvenil A team when he was barely playing for the Juvenil C team, quickly recognizing his quality.
Arbeloa, who worked his way up through Madrid’s reserve teams at the start of his own playing career between 2002-2005, exudes personality and competitive spirit, partly thanks to the influence of former coach José Mourinho. He is not afraid to speak his mind, either on the pitch or in news conferences. Those who know him best highlight his ability to convince players and connect with the dressing room, something that will be key with the first team.
What has Arbeloa achieved?
Arbeloa’s greatest success in Real Madrid’s youth academy was leading the Juvenil A class of 2004 in which Nico Paz, Gonzalo García, César Palacios, Jacobo Ramón and Manuel Ángel shone. He managed to win the league, the cup and the Copa de Campeones, playing exceptional football.
He has racked up 151 victories in 200 games at La Fábrica and has left his mark with his character and his interventionist approach. This season with Castilla has been good and he leaves the Madrid reserve team fourth in the third-tier Primera Federación.
The profound influence of Mourinho
Mourinho is the one for whom Arbeloa has played the most. He played under the Portuguese coach in the first-team between 2010 and 2013, having returned to the Bernabéu after being brought back from Liverpool by his predecessor Manuel Pellegrini a year earlier. In total, Arbeloa played in 122 games in all competitions under Mourinho, winning one LaLiga title and one Copa del Rey.
The impact of Mourinho’s methods on Arbeloa goes beyond the sporting arena. Speaking to El Chiringuito in 2017, the former defender acknowledged that he seeks to apply what he learned from “The Special One” to all aspects of his life: “I try to be as ‘Mourinhista‘ as possible. It’s a way of knowing how to do things, of always going forward, of not being afraid to be who you are.”
What other coaches has Arbeloa worked under?
Mourinho is undoubtedly the most influential coach in the former defender’s career, but is far from being the only one who had an impact on his career. Arbeloa played 98 games under Rafa Benítez in 2½ years at Liverpool, where he established himself at the top level, as well as another six appearances for his former Anfield boss during his short spell in charge of Real Madrid in 2015-16.
The competitive edge Arbeloa gained from playing in the Premier League, an extremely physical league, in the mid-2000s, undoubtedly influenced the preparation of his players, similar to Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta’s time at Everton during the same period.
Meanwhile, at Real Madrid, he was also coached by Carlo Ancelotti during the Italian’s first spell between 2013-2015 playing 65 times in a period marked by the club’s 10th UEFA Champions League triumph. He was also a fixture for Pellegrini, the coach who brought him back to the club where he trained and who fielded him 38 times. To a lesser extent, his other coaches at Real Madrid include Mariano García Remón (two games, who gave him his debut in the first team in 2004-05), Vanderlei Luxemburgo (two games), and Zinedine Zidane (three games).
Another notable figure in Arbeloa’s career is Joaquín Caparrós, the first coach to take a chance on him when he couldn’t find a place among the Real Madrid stars and decided to take him to Deportivo La Coruña in 2006. There he played 21 games, quickly attracting the interest of Liverpool. And at the end of his career, at West Ham, Arbeloa coincided with Slaven Bilic, who only managed him on four occasions before he retired in 2017.
Three years later, Arbeloa returned to Madrid to coach the club’s U14 Infantil A side in 2020. Now, after a steady rise up through the ranks, he’s the first-team coach.
