Xabi Alonso has said he’s “not paying attention” to speculation about his future at Real Madrid, and insisted a message of support from the club is “not necessary” as his struggling team prepares to face Olympiacos in the Champions League.
A run of three games without a win — a defeat at Liverpool, and draws at Rayo Vallecano and Elche — has put coach Alonso under pressure early in his managerial reign, with growing scrutiny of his team selection and tactics, and squad management.
In a news conference in Piraeus on Tuesday, Alonso admitted that dealing with superstar egos is “fundamental” at Madrid, and said he’d been thinking about how predecessors Carlo Ancelotti and José Mourinho — who both coached Alonso as a player — would have dealt with Madrid’s slump.
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“It’s demanding,” Alonso said, when asked if he was enjoying the role, three months in. “I’m not the first coach that has to deal with these kinds of situations. I think about what Carlo [Ancelotti] or Mou[rinho] would do, [Manuel] Pellegrini too. It isn’t new. You have to know how to live with it.”
Alonso is facing criticism despite his team sitting top of LaLiga — a point ahead of rivals Barcelona — and with nine points from four Champions League games so far.
Reports in Madrid have claimed that Alonso’s relationship with several players has suffered, with ESPN reporting that Vinícius Júnior has been unhappy with being benched four times this season.
“[Managing egos] is every bit as important as your footballing idea, your tactical work, your physical work,” Alonso said on Tuesday. “It’s working with personalities, getting the best out of them. It’s a process that has its ups and downs. You have to know how to deal with it in any team, and at Madrid it’s fundamental.”
Alonso had coached Real Sociedad B and Bayer Leverkusen before taking over at Madrid, but played with a host of top stars in his time as a player.
“I’ve worked with great players, big characters,” he said. “They’re demanding, they always want the best, and that helps them be as good as they are. That’s what’s great about being at Real Madrid, working with players at this level. You have to be able to connect with them.”
“I know what a dressing room is,” he added. “You have to live with the noise outside. We have to deal with that, and not lose our focus on what’s important, what we can control, how we work and how we can get through these moments.”
Alonso was asked if he had received the support of club executives during the team’s disappointing run.
“It isn’t necessary [to receive a message of support],” he said. “I spoke with the president [Florentino Perez] this morning. We speak frequently with [director general] José Angel [Sanchez]. We communicate in the day to day.”
“The atmosphere is really good,” defender Álvaro Carreras said. “We have an incredible group, with the boss and the 25 players in the squad … We have a good relationship.”