Xabi Alonso Must Prove His Worth Against Barcelona – Steve McManaman

Former Real Madrid player Steve McManaman has said that the club must prove they are ready to compete with Barcelona on Sunday. He recently had his say while speaking to the press, and fans have been reacting.

According to him, after failing woefully against Atletico Madrid weeks ago, Madrid must react better to losing home and away to Barcelona last season.

McManaman added that while Xabi Alonso has a stronger squad at his disposal compared to last year, he has to coach a solid performance against Flick’s boys.

His words, “To be honest, on the pitch, I can’t see that many changes that he’s made. I’ve seen them lots of times this year, and they’ve been almost perfect, until they came to Atletico Madrid, and they were very disappointing.

So they’re beating all the opposition you expect them to beat in La Liga. They beat the opposition that you expect them to beat in the Champions League. Atletico Madrid away from home was their first big test, and they failed. Their second big test is on Sunday. And I’m really looking forward to seeing how what he changes, because they lost four times last year against Barcelona and they conceded a multitude of goals. So he needs to change something.

But I’m waiting to see whether the proof’s in the pudding on Sunday afternoon. Because when I’ve seen Madrid this year, they’re very much similar to last year. But of course, they’ve got a stronger squad. You know Xabi Alonso has played basically a 4-4-2, or some combination of that.

He hasn’t played with three at the back, with wing backs, like he did all the time at Bayer Leverkusen. He has a little tiny bit, but principally has four at the back, the midfielders and then the forward line, whether it’s Kylian Mbappe and Vini Jr or Kylian and Rodrygo. So I’m waiting to see what he does Sunday, to see if there’s a significant difference for last year.”

WOW.

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football.

Real Madrid has maintained the white shirt for its home kit throughout the history of the club. There was, however, one season that the shirt and shorts were not both white. It was an initiative undertaken by Juan Padrós in honor of an English team Corinthian F.C., which he had met on one of his trips, one of the most famous teams at the time known for its elegance and sportsmanship.

It was under Florentino Pérez’s first presidency (2000–2006) that Real Madrid started its ambition of becoming the world’s richest professional football club. The club ceded part of its training grounds to the city of Madrid in 2001, and sold the rest to four corporations: Repsol YPF, Mutua Automovilística de Madrid, Sacyr Vallehermoso and OHL.

Hala Madrid is a magazine published quarterly for the Real Madrid club members and the Madridistas Fan Club card holders. The phrase Hala Madrid, meaning “Forward Madrid” or “Go Madrid”, is also the title of the club’s official anthem, which is often sung by the Madridistas (the club’s fans).