Officially: Real Madrid Dismisses Coach Xabi Alonso and Appoints Arbeloa as His Successor

SadaNews - The Spanish club Real Madrid officially announced today, Monday evening, the dismissal of coach Xabi Alonso, just hours after losing the Supercopa de España title to their traditional rival Barcelona in a match held in Saudi Arabia.

One day after Real Madrid lost the Supercopa final to their traditional rivals in Jeddah, the royal club's management announced the departure of coach Xabi Alonso from his position, after only eight months at the helm of the royal team's technical staff, appointing Álvaro Arbeloa as his successor.

Real Madrid stated in a press release, "By mutual agreement between the club and Xabi Alonso, it was decided to end his coaching tenure of the first team."

The capital club noted in a second statement that former Spanish defender Álvaro Arbeloa, the 2010 World Champion alongside Alonso, who had been overseeing the reserve team recently, will take over the technical leadership of the first team.

The statement added: "Xabi Alonso will continue to be loved and admired by all Real Madrid fans; he is a club legend and has always embodied its values… Real Madrid will always be his home."

The club expressed its gratitude to Xabi Alonso and his coaching staff for their efforts and dedication during this period, wishing them all the best in this new phase of their lives.

Alonso took over as coach of Real Madrid last summer after the departure of veteran Italian Carlo Ancelotti to lead the Brazilian national team.

Alonso won 24 out of 34 matches he managed with Real Madrid, but his team faced boos after losing to Celta Vigo in December 2025, a defeat that prompted the club's management to hold an emergency meeting to discuss Alonso's future.

The team also suffered a heavy defeat, ending 2-5 against city rivals Atlético Madrid in September 2025.

Additionally, they were defeated by Liverpool and Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League.

Real Madrid Did Not Open the Door for Speculations

In this context, Real Madrid did not leave room for speculation and immediately announced Xabi Alonso's successor, Spanish Álvaro Arbeloa, who had been coaching the Castilla team since June 2025 and has spent his entire coaching career at Real Madrid's youth academy since 2020.

Arbeloa led the U19 team in the 2020-2021 season, winning the league title, then the U19 team in the 2021-2022 season, and the U17 team from 2022 to 2025.

During his coaching of the U17 team, he achieved the historic treble in the 2022-2023 season, which includes the league title, the Copa del Rey, and the UEFA Champions League, as well as the league title in the 2024-2025 season.

As for his playing career, Álvaro Arbeloa was part of Real Madrid during one of the most successful periods in its history, wearing the club's jersey from 2009 to 2016 and participating in 238 official matches.

During that time, he won eight titles, including two UEFA Champions League titles, one FIFA Club World Cup title, one UEFA Super Cup title, one La Liga title, two Copa del Rey titles, and one Spanish Super Cup title.

With the Spanish national team, Álvaro Arbeloa was part of a historic era, winning the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and two European Championships in 2008 and 2012, having participated in 56 international matches with Spain.

Barcelona crowned the Supercopa de España title for the sixteenth time in its history, pulling off an exciting victory in the final match against its traditional rival Real Madrid with a score of 3-2 on Sunday evening at the "Al-Nomai" stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The first half ended in a 2-2 draw after a near-complete domination by the Blaugrana, who controlled the flow of the game and took the lead with the first goal from Brazilian Raphinha in the 36th minute, before Vinícius Júnior equalized for Real Madrid with an individual effort in the 45+2 minute.

The following minutes were very intense, as Polish Robert Lewandowski restored Barcelona's lead with a second goal in the 45+4 minute, but Gonzalo García quickly equalized two minutes later, bringing the match back to square one.

In the second half, Real Madrid improved its performance somewhat, with both teams exchanging attacks, but Raphinha managed to secure the win for the Catalan team, scoring the third goal for his team and his personal second in the 73rd minute.

In the 90+1 minute, Dutch player Frenkie de Jong of Barcelona was sent off after a violent tackle on Kylian Mbappé, who participated in the last quarter of an hour of the match, ending the game with Barcelona claiming the sixteenth Supercopa title and the second consecutive, also at the expense of Real Madrid.