Real Madrid's Plan for the Bench: Xabi Alonso Already Knows All the Intentions

The  dilemma of Real Madrid's current coach, which arose during October 2024, seems to have almost definitively subsided. Because the last-minute victory achieved in Valencia, in the first game of 2025, keeps Carlo Ancelotti in the position of the white team's coach.

The information published by the digital sports newspaper Relevo indicates that the Meringue board would have imposed two conditions to ensure the Italian's continuity until the end of his contract. To extend his relationship with Real Madrid, the transalpine strategist must win LaLiga or the Champions League.

Only those two competitions will keep Ancelotti on the home bench at Santiago Bernabéu. Winning the top national competition, without leaving a bad impression in the Champions League, would be more than enough. Achieving another Liga-Champions League double would be the ideal goal, but from the Valdebebas offices, they seem more understanding than ever.

Especially due to the cordial relationship between Florentino Pérez and Carlo Ancelotti himself. The proximity of the end of a contract that doesn't aspire to be renewed a second time means that expectations are considerably lowered... not forgetting that the Italian coach is the coach of an entity with the highest demands and sports competitiveness.

Time will tell

In the best-case scenario, Real Madrid will win both the League and the Champions League. In the worst possible situation, the merengue team will suffer an unexpected competitive collapse and will be left without options in the two most important titles of the current soccer season.

That failure would be enough to dismiss Carlo Ancelotti even if he only had one year left on his contract with the Madrid entity. During that eventuality, the offices in Valdebebas have already chosen his replacement: Xabi Alonso. The hiring of the current Bayer Leverkusen coach is another of the major pending transfers that Real Madrid has on its list of future prospects.

Because the generational change must also be applied to the bench. Showing absolute gratitude for what Carlo Ancelotti, the most decorated coach in the club's history, has achieved, the executives led by Florentino Pérez would seek a change in tactical direction. The successes of Xabi, backed by his fantastic records at the helm of the werkself team, qualify him to coach Real Madrid and imprint a new style on the white team.

There are no doubts about Carlo Ancelotti's successor in the white hierarchy. However, there are certain reservations about the moment when the Reggiolo coach should make way for Xabi Alonso at the helm of the first team. Only the successes or failures achieved this season will conclude a debate whose resolution is much more complicated than it seems.