Managing Madrid Podcast · Managing Madrid

What's Changed Since Xabi Alonso Left Real Madrid?

·56 min·3 clips

Mehedi says Mbappe should be treated “like a PSG player” until the World Cup ends.

1. Managing Madrid Podcast’s “What’s Changed Since Xabi Alonso Left Real Madrid?” compares Arbeloa’s Real Madrid with Xabi Alonso’s version after the October Clásico. 2. Kian Sobhani hosts the conversation, Mehedi Hassan explains the data, and both matter because they connect tactics, injuries, and squad management. 3. The episode asks whether Real Madrid have actually changed stylistically or just drifted back to the same structural problems. 4. Mehedi says the article began with the defensive line because he wanted to measure where Arbeloa sits compared with Xabi Alonso. 5. He also checked data on Vinicius and Fede Valverde after the eye test suggested obvious changes. 6. Kian argues that Real Madrid keep reverting to their historical style rather than imposing a new one. 7. The hosts link that idea to Carlo Ancelotti’s repeated pre-season talk about aggressive pressing and how it often faded. 8. Mehedi says Arbeloa believes in high pressing, wide fullbacks, and control-based football, but the team’s ceiling remains unclear. 9. The conversation turns to injuries after Kian asks Mehedi to name the missing players for the Celta game. 10. Mehedi lists ten absentees and expands the point into a wider critique of Real Madrid’s injury management. 11. He cites repeated ACL problems across Zidane’s last season, the 2024 Champions League season, and the current stretch. 12. Kian and Mehedi discuss Mario’s report that Rodrygo was playing with a partial ACL tear in 2023. 13. They connect that report to Mbappe’s dip in explosiveness and to the danger of rushing players back through pain. 14. The episode also mentions Jude Bellingham’s shoulder issue, Rudiger playing through pain, and Gareth Bale’s later-career hesitation. 15. Mehedi argues that Real Madrid should protect Mbappe and treat him like a PSG player until the World Cup ends. 16. Kian says the club would still try to fight for the Champions League, even if the odds look poor against City. 17. The tone is conversational and live-streamed, with Kian prompting, Mehedi answering, and periodic detours into viewer comments and super chats. 18. The pace shifts between tactical breakdown, injury analysis, and broad structural criticism of Real Madrid’s planning. 19. Best for Real Madrid fans who want tactics plus injury context. 20. Skip if you want a short, match-only recap without long structural debate.

As heard by us

A blunt Real Madrid discussion about tactics, cohesion, and the profiles the team no longer has.

Managing Madrid spends this episode on tactics and on where Real Madrid is headed, with the talk shaped by current frustrations and the standards the club keeps setting for itself.

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Why you'd press play

Hear a Real Madrid tactics chat turn into a sober check on where the club is headed.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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