'A new era dawns at Real Madrid' - the challenges facing Alonso

In what has been nan worst kept concealed successful nan footballing world, Xabi Alonso has been announced arsenic Real Madrid's caller manager.

After announcing this period that he would time off Bayer Leverkusen this summer, nan erstwhile Real and Liverpool midfielder has signed a three-year deal astatine nan Bernabeu arsenic Carlo Ancelotti's successor.

It is an inevitable, if bittersweet, conclusion to Ancelotti's 2nd spell astatine Madrid.

So finally, we person nan overmuch expected transition, pinch nan Italian fable stepping speech to take complaint of Brazil and nan young pretender returning to nan Bernabeu.

This changing of nan guard, from nan club's astir dressed up coach to a rising prima successful management, is symbolic. It marks nan extremity of an era and nan opening of a fascinating caller one.

A business facilitated by nan innate reasonableness of Bayer Leverkusen who, existent to their word, stood by nan gentlemen's statement betwixt coach and nine that they would not guidelines successful Alonso's measurement should he person an connection he could not refuse.

Madrid are now preparing for a early led by their erstwhile midfielder, pinch president Florentino Perez viewing Alonso arsenic nan semipermanent answer.

The 43-year-old's occurrence astatine Leverkusen has elevated his profile, and Real judge he possesses nan tactical sharpness and affectional intelligence to lead a generational transition.

Last twelvemonth he led Leverkusen to a Bundesliga title, without losing a game, and nan German Cup successful his first afloat play arsenic a elder nine manager.

But nan task Alonso faces astatine Real is enormous.

He will inherit a squad successful flux, needing to equilibrium Kylian Mbappe's beingness and Vinicius Jr's leadership, pinch nan Brazilian astir to motion a longer contract.

Alonso will besides request to merge youngsters for illustration Endrick and Arda Guler, phasing retired nan aged defender and delivering trophies immediately.

He will besides request to navigate a boardroom that wants influence, a instrumentality guidelines that demands instant occurrence and a media situation that will clasp him to intolerable standards from time one.

Alonso has nan tactical credentials, but this is Madrid wherever talent unsocial does not guarantee survival.

After winning La Liga and nan Champions League past season, a run without a trophy serves to warrant nan club's determination to extremity nan Ancelotti era.

You cannot underestimate nan enormity of his publication to nan club, though.

Fifteen trophies - much than immoderate head successful nan club's history - successful 2 eras of success, steadiness and quiet revolution.

Ancelotti brought dignity and calm to chaos. He won pinch style, without needing to shout, and restored bid erstwhile nan nine was connected nan edge.

When Ancelotti returned to Madrid successful 2021 pursuing Zinedine Zidane's unexpected resignation, nan nine were drifting.

The stadium redevelopment was mid-construction, nan squad was bladed and location was a palpable deficiency of direction. Yet Ancelotti brought calm, clarity, credibility - and a singular resurgence.

In his first play back, aft nan departure of cardinal players Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane, they secured a La Liga and Champions League double, positive nan Spanish Supercup, an accomplishment fewer believed imaginable fixed nan structural limitations.

Key areas of nan squad remained unaddressed because of financial unit caused by escalating stadium costs. But done man-management, tactical pragmatism and nan brilliance of individuals, Madrid triumphed.

However, that aforesaid occurrence planted nan seeds of early discord arsenic nan squad was not improved dramatically and players who near - particularly Toni Kroos - were not replaced adequately.

When Mbappe yet arrived from Paris St-Germain past summer, Perez believed nan squad would return different leap forward.

But fractures had already begun to appear, not conscionable tactically but wrong nan changing room.

Behind closed doors, disagreements surfaced complete beingness mentation and discipline, and Perez, ever profoundly involved, became much vocal successful his frustration.

From nan directors' container came disdainful comments, connected nan deficiency of protect activity by nan main stars, contempt meetings betwixt nan head and them to move things around, and Ancelotti's guidance of emerging talents.

Questions were raised complete nan cautious handling of Guler, and doubts formed complete whether guardant Endrick would thrive nether Ancelotti's approach.

The tension, though ne'er explosive, became constant. By October nan nine activity felt Ancelotti was not addressing nan issues and nan thought of Madrid taking a caller guidance started to return root.

On nan pitch, nan squad mislaid coherence. The dressing room - erstwhile unified by Ancelotti's dependable manus - began to fragment. Key players stopped listening to him, while others grew weary of his hands-off approach.

Perhaps astir destabilising was nan rivalry betwixt Vinicius and Mbappe. Both wanted to beryllium nan look of nan team.

Mbappe preferred to play centrally, but Vinicius believed he had earned apical billing. There was nary unfastened conflict, but nan on-pitch move said volumes. In captious moments, they did not look for each other. The hostility was visible to unit and team-mates alike.

Ancelotti, usually nan maestro of ego management, struggled and admitted privately it was 1 of nan hardest changing rooms to negociate successful his career.

On immoderate occasions, pre-match media briefings became short and irritable, pinch Ancelotti emotion he was not getting nan nine support he thought he deserved.

He had asked for right-back Kyle Walker successful January to screen for semipermanent injuries to Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao, but nan petition was rejected.

Outwardly, nan 65-year-old remained respectful. He repeated nan aforesaid line: "I will enactment astatine Madrid until nan nine nary longer wants me."

To fans, that echoed loyalty. But to Perez, it sounded for illustration pressure.

Now nan Brazil occupation stands arsenic Ancelotti's adjacent frontier.