Neither Gonzalo nor Arda Güler: the Real Madrid player who's won Xabi's heart

Xabi Alonso is very happy with all Real Madrid's players, because they're doing a fantastic job in these first few weeks. Little by little, they're understanding better what he needs from them and making sacrifices. That's one of the keys for the coach: for them to give everything on the field and for there to be collective work.

No one doubts the squad's level, but now Xabi wants to build a great team, and for that, everyone must go in the same direction. That's why the coaching staff are working on the defensive aspect and on pressing, which in recent seasons was done without order. It's not a criticism of Ancelotti, who's done a fantastic job at Madrid, but they're different coaches.

Xabi is also being very patient with everyone, because he hasn't been there long and they're in the middle of an important competition. They have little time to prepare matches and the priority is to win. That's why he wants to introduce concepts little by little; after the World Cup (Mundial), there will be more evolution.

Going for all the titles

At Real Madrid, they're clear that they must be candidates to fight for all the trophies this season, and they want to start with the World Cup (Mundial). It'll be complicated, because there are very strong rivals, but if anyone can do it, it's Madrid. The squad is impressive and little by little, the footballers who were injured are recovering.

For now, they're very motivated and eager to show their potential. They feel confident with Xabi Alonso in charge and see themselves as capable of achieving great things. But they must start little by little, because they'd spent 4 years with the same coach, and it's not easy to absorb so many changes at once. 

He's optimistic

Xabi believes Real Madrid will have chances to win the Club World Cup. They're improving match by match and Kylian Mbappé is very close to being available. The French forward is eager to help his teammates and to find the net again after the virus. 

Now, they're only thinking about the match against Juventus. It'll be played on Tuesday, July 1 at 9:00 p.m. Spanish peninsular time.