Even after only a few games in office, Álvaro Arbeloa astonished with a foray into the fantasy world. “I am not Gandalf the White,” Real Madrid’s new coach proclaimed in February after a clumsy victory with a penalty goal in the tenth minute of stoppage time against Rayo Vallecano. And no one can doubt that it couldn’t get whiter than in the heart of the 43-year-old former defender, a lifelong and unconditional admirer of his club. But conjuring spells like the wizard from The Lord of the Rings is something the successor of Xabi Alonso cannot do either.
Before the Champions League clash against Bayern Munich today and next Wednesday, Arbeloa, like his dismissed predecessor, endures the moods and structural problems of the royal squad. Sometimes the stars rally around Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior, or Jude Bellingham; other times they let themselves go. Sometimes they apply contemporary concepts like pressing and defensively keep reasonably proper distances; other times they seem to drift as eleven isolated islands across the pitch. Sometimes the absence of a true playmaker in midfield can be offset by dynamic counterattacks; other times Real reveals a footballing nothing.
The record is accordingly mixed. Arbeloa’s squad was knocked out of the cup right at the start of his tenure by second-division Albacete. In the league, from a four-point deficit to leaders Barcelona at the time of taking charge, the gap had grown to seven points; on Saturday there was a 1-2 defeat to relegation candidate RCD Mallorca. In the Champions League, however, Madrid recently impressed with a clear advancement past Manchester City. And the Champions League is, after all, the competition in which a Real coach is expected to wield the magic wand.
If the first leg at the Bernabéu between the two clubs comes — there has been no European clash more frequent — the question is how decisive balance, form and playing culture will be: in this regard Bayern would be clear favorites. And what role emotions, psychology, myth will play: at the Bernabéu you never know, there is the ironclad certainty Arbeloa proclaimed before Manchester: “Real Madrid is always the favorite. No matter the circumstances and against any opponent: We never feel inferior.”
More Heroes, Less Methodology
Fifteen titles in the most prestigious European Cup attest to a self-assurance that not even Bayern’s “Mia san Mia” can quite match. That in Germany, the phrase “bestia negra” is still sometimes stretched — under that label the Bavarians were once Real’s feared opponents — is almost cute. The last four encounters (2014, 2017, 2018 and 2024) were all won by Real. The “black beast” was domesticated into a charming pet, even though Madrid in those years did not always perform convincingly.
Arbeloa was a youth player at the club, later a loyal foot soldier under coaches like his idol José Mourinho and most recently coach of the reserve team. He knows the identity of a club where it’s about heroes, and the quirks of a dressing room that reflexively resists methodical approaches like those of his friend Xabi Alonso. Alonso tried especially to rein in the Brazilian Vinícius and failed to do so — the winger’s open rebellion against his frequent substitutions helped precipitate the end of the Bayer Leverkusen coach’s tenure.
It was symbolic in a way, as Arbeloa, on his very first day, sang the praises of Vinícius — and it paid off, because “Vini,” who under Alonso sometimes went through 16 consecutive games without a goal, has since the coaching upheaval scored eleven goals and, with his unpredictable dribbles, is again Real’s most dangerous attacker. Federico Valverde, Madrid’s most important midfielder, was also dissatisfied under Alonso and is again the omnipresent universal weapon of past triumphs. Together the duo also dealt with Manchester; that Mbappé and Bellingham, who were injured at the time, are now available again, does not please all observers. Real this season was stronger when the Galáctico quotient remained within bounds.
Arbeloa then integrates youth players from below and does not forget players in the middle tier such as Antonio Rüdiger. After the controversial German international defender again stood out in the Getafe match for a nasty foul, Arbeloa distributed even more unconditional pampering: “If I could, I would erect a monument to Rüdiger in my garden; he is a role model for all young players.”
Bread and butter, literally: Midfielder Eduardo Camavinga recently revealed that Arbeloa sometimes rewards players after training with donuts, Oreos, or speculoos cookies. Not exactly the recommended nutrition for athletes, but perhaps for superstars, Camavinga says: “You just need to make this type of player happy. If you’re happy, your feet will do what they want.”
