Xabi Alonso reveals if Real Madrid will return to three center backs

The arrival of Xabi Alonso at Real Madrid is currently achieving the main goal that the club's top executives set for the coach from Tolosa. In fact, the first three matches of the current league season, before the September international break, have all resulted in wins. Nevertheless, there are still many things to correct and change according to the Madrid coach.

One of the changes he would have made in his first months in charge of Santiago Bernabéu locker room is to offer a striking tactical versatility. The three-center-back defense, making use of players like Dean Huijsen and the versatility of Aurélien Tchouaméni, made a strong impression. 

Since the World Cup, that formation hasn't been seen again. In fact, Xabi Alonso makes it clear that it was "a different context from now. We needed a game plan, not to build what we want now", reveals the Madrid coach, with a completely different approach now that he has much more competitive and tactical stability.

His decisions to complete a three-center-back defense "weren't three center-backs, it was a midfielder dropped in", he says, referring to Tchouaméni himself... who, despite everything, was one of the most outstanding pupils of the Madrid coaching staff. "I haven't forgotten about it, we have five center-backs so because of the players' qualities we can do it", Xabi Alonso warns.

He will have to think it over carefully

"The fact that it hasn't happened in three matches isn't conclusive, there's still a long way to go", says the Real Madrid coach about this tactical change. In fact, the options available to the head of the coaching staff to compose his starting eleven, especially in certain positions, are quite broad.

One of those positions is the heart of the defense. Xabi Alonso himself has recalled that "we have five center-backs" perfectly prepared to perform in any tactical demand required. Even if the defense of three center-backs, plus the two wing-backs, were to become the norm from now on.

That doesn't seem likely to happen, given Xabi Alonso's response. The current 4-3-3, with the ability to become a 4-4-2 in defensive or attacking tasks, has produced excellent results: a perfect record of wins in the matches prior to the international break.

The possibility of bringing back the three-center-back system seen during the Club World Cup, which has surprised and left a mark on many Madrid fans, remains. However, its relevance for a specific moment of the season will depend on the availability of the footballers involved and other tactical decisions by the coach.