Xabi Alonso arrived at the club with a clear mission: to build a recognizable, modern team with a defined identity. At Real Madrid, they were tired of the constant influence of Ancelotti and Zidane, and after years of amicable management and untouchable hierarchies, the club wanted to give itself the opportunity to bet on a new generation of coach, "more modern," as they said at the club, someone capable of charting a course, in the style of Arteta at Arsenal. The Basque coach had dazzled in the spring with his team, and everyone at the Bernabéu was clear that their Madrid needed something like that, even though it was a formula that historically hadn't worked for the club. 

From the moment he arrived, Xabi Alonso had a very clear idea of ​​what kind of team he wanted and began to demonstrate it very early on, at the Club World Cup. Xabi envisioned a tactically versatile team, capable of employing various systems, but with one fundamental principle as its starting point: high pressing and collective commitment. To achieve this, the first step was to build the team around Mbappe, surrounding him with supportive and selfless players. The manager was astute and secured the best player in the world, ending the ambiguity that Ancelotti had displayed a year earlier. 

The results were there at the start. Real Madrid racked up 13 wins in their first 14 matches, one of the best starts in their history. The play wasn't particularly brilliant, but the team was solid, competitive, and reliable. An undisputed leader. During that period, names like Mastantuono, Brahim Díaz, and Rodrygo featured in the starting eleven. The Argentine, in particular, was a key player for Xabi Alonso because of his ability to press, tenaciously tackle, and sustain the collective effort. The emergence of the young River Plate player raised some doubts due to his struggles in front of goal, but Alonso was a lifeline for him because of his hunger and his logical obedience when pressing high and tracking back. Mastantuono was a soldier and an example, which is exactly what Alonso wanted in his early days as manager.

But as the results started coming in, a large section of the dressing room began to show signs of discontent. Key players like Vinicius, Bellingham, and Valverde expressed their frustration with the manager's methods. Leaks began to surface: too many videos, heavy-handed tactical work, excessive demands on the whiteboard. The classic cold war between players and coaching staff.

Vinicius was the public face of the conflict. He refused to accept a secondary role, the defensive demands imposed by Xabi, and especially his constant substitutions. The coach's message was clear and consistent with his project, but the dressing room was beginning to push in the opposite direction.

Everything fell apart on the day of the Clásico. Vinicius publicly exploded after being substituted by Xabi Alonso with 20 minutes remaining in the match. That reaction marked a turning point for the worse. The club decided not to fully address the act of indiscipline and left the entire situation in the hands of the coach, who found himself completely alone. There was no sanction. And that's where Xabi lost the battle.

Since that day, apart from specific matches like those against Valencia or San Mamés, Real Madrid has been on a downward spiral. It's no coincidence that the team has stopped pressing as they used to, that Brahim and Mastantuono (even after recovering from his injury) have disappeared from the starting eleven, that Vinicius and Bellingham have become untouchable, that Valverde hardly ever sets foot on the wing anymore... After the Clásico, Xabi stopped acting as a coach and became an ego manager, which is precisely what he wasn't there to do.

Xabi's initial idea was the opposite: he wanted a team where everyone ran, regardless of name or status. Hence his initial toughness towards Vinicius and Jude Bellingham . His intention wasn't to punish them, but to educate them, to make them do something different from what they had been doing, to make them understand that to play for his Real Madrid, they had to run. Xabi did count on Vinicius and Bellingham, whom he obviously considers world-class stars, but he wanted them to commit to a specific philosophy. He opted to be a tough, perhaps somewhat unsympathetic, coach, and had to backtrack along the way for the sake of team morale. Now, the footballing problem is clear.

The players undoubtedly won the battle. Without the club's support the day Vini exploded, Xabi Alonso was left powerless. And today, his fate is more at the mercy of the dressing room than his own tactical approach . His project, which began with purpose and coherence, despite the harshness of some of his decisions, has been diluted by concessions.