Xabi Alonso asks for a much-needed signing after beating Salzburg, first and last name

Real Madrid's victory over RB Salzburg during the last match of the Club World Cup group stage shows the virtues of Xabi Alonso's approaches. The white team's coach, after taking command of the team during the weeks leading up to the start of the competition organized by FIFA, has tried different tactical maneuvers.

Some of them have produced a truly striking result. Especially the three-center-back defense that he tried with great effectiveness during the clash against RB Salzburg. Real Madrid, although also thanks to Thibaut Courtois's collaboration, kept a clean sheet for the first time.

The positive feelings gathered after that match against the Austrian side make clear the tactical principles of Xabi Alonso. That being said, the three-center-back defense could become the norm, a new circumstance that requires greater adaptation from Santiago Bernabéu locker room for next season.

That reconditioning should be done, according to the leader of the merengue coaching staff, by intervening again in the transfer market this summer. The goal now, in addition to other projects that the sporting management is handling in the background, would be to bring in another defender for the heart of the white team's back line. But not just any player fits this new tactical purpose.

Almost essential signing

So much so that Xabi Alonso has identified the ideal player to add another center-back to Santiago Bernabéu locker room: Piero Hincapié. The Ecuadorian player is a "longtime acquaintance" of the Basque strategist, given their time together at Bayer Leverkusen. During that year and a half, the Central American "3" was one of the indispensable players in the starting line-ups of the current white team coach.

That's why Xabi Alonso insists on his arrival to the merengue squad. At the Valdebebas offices, they are considering that signing as just another one on the agenda, but the current situation in the first team and its contract conditions could tip the balance. David Alaba's injury, which will keep him sidelined for the next four weeks (one month), is a setback that seems to support Xabi Alonso's own point of view.

Moreover, Piero Hincapié could join the players managed by the Tolosa-born coach for just 40 million euros. Although the executives led by Florentino Pérez show a considerable reluctance to intervene again in the market, given the high spending that occurred this summer... this is a deal in which Xabi Alonso could even mediate to reduce the final amount of his release clause.

Real Madrid's board of directors has already registered Xabi Alonso's request. The white team's coach believes that Piero Hincapié is the ideal player to continue with his tactical plans, aiming to establish the three-center-back defense as his default formation. The current players in the heart of the white team's back line fall "short" for that requirement, which is why he has recruited Aurélien Tchouaméni to play in that position.