Real Madrid’s coach, Xabi Alonso, has decided to revive an old habit that Portuguese coach José Mourinho used to follow during his time coaching the club, which is to impose complete secrecy on the team’s preparations before Champions League matches.
Alonso decided that the royal team will train in the city of “Valdebebas” on the morning of the match, and will only go to the opponent’s stadium to attend the official press conference, in order to protect the technical aspects from the eyes of the competitors.
The Spanish newspaper “AS” stated that this step represents a “return to the past” in Real Madrid, and brings back memories of the way Mourinho used to follow while leading the team.
The newspaper explained that Alonso adopted a new policy in the days of preparation for European matches, based on training in Valdebebas (Real Madrid’s sports city) in the morning, and traveling in the evening, without conducting any training in the opponent’s stadium, except for attending the press conference attended by the coach and one of the players.
The Spanish coach spoke frankly about his decision during the recent press conference, saying: “Yes, this is my decision. Why? Because we have to prepare for the match and we prefer to do it in our sports city, in our own space, so that we are not captured by 200 cameras,” he said with a smile, pointing to his concern that the team’s training would be exposed to the eyes of competitors.
The newspaper confirmed that his speech is not aimed directly at the media, but rather at the spy cameras that may be monitoring the team’s movements and plans.
Alonso’s conviction
The newspaper believes that this step stems from Alonso’s conviction that training in the opponent’s stadium gives him an opportunity to see the tactical plans. This rule has been applied since the beginning of the season, with the exception of the Almaty match, which was a special case due to travel difficulties, as the team had to travel two days before the match, which made it impossible to implement the plan.
With the first available opportunity, Alonso reactivated his idea, to become a fixed rule in Real Madrid: morning training in Valdebebas, evening travel, and a visit to the opponent’s stadium only to attend the press conference.
“AS” adds that this style comes as part of a series of changes that Alonso has introduced since taking over the responsibility, as the team’s preparations have become more accurate than during Carlo Ancelotti’s period, with intensive use of technology, and one of the most prominent examples of this is the use of “drone” aircraft during training to analyze technical performance from different angles.
Real Madrid will start implementing this plan specifically today, as the team is scheduled to travel to Liverpool at four o’clock in the afternoon, arriving there at half past five local time (half past six Spanish time).
Real Madrid will then head to the hotel, which is the same accommodation that the team used last season, where all the players will stay except for Alonso and the player who will accompany him to the press conference scheduled at Anfield at 19:15 Spanish time, while it has not yet been determined who will accompany the coach in the conference, knowing that Jude Bellingham took over this task last season.
On the physical side, Real Madrid received bad news with four influential absences before facing Liverpool. Dani Carvajal was absent after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, and he is not expected to return to participate until 2026.
Antonio Rudiger is also suffering from a tear in the rectus femoris muscle in his left thigh, and is expected to return after the next international break, while David Alaba is suffering from muscle fatigue in his right leg.
But the biggest surprise was the addition of young Franco Mastantuono to the list of injured players, after examinations revealed that he had osteitis pubis.
The report confirmed that his condition does not require complete rest, but his participation in Anfield is not possible, without specifying the recovery period accurately.
On the other hand, the news coming from Valdebebas carried assurances about the Turkish star Arda Guler, who left the previous Valencia match due to a slight sprain in his right ankle.
“AS” indicated that his injury was minor and did not cause any damage, as the player returned to train normally and is expected to start as a starter against Liverpool.
Right-back position
The focus in the squad is on the right-back position, where Alonso is considering keeping Fede Valverde in this role, or pushing Arnold, who has fully recovered from his injury, but has not participated in any match since September 16.
As for the last training, it was light as usual in such circumstances, where the technical staff focused on video analysis to study the opponent’s style and identify weaknesses, with light technical exercises without making a great physical effort.
Thus, Valdebebas has become the permanent headquarters for Real Madrid’s training before the Champions League matches, in application of Alonso’s vision, who brought back to the club a tradition that has been absent since Mourinho’s era, officially announcing the re-application of what has become known within the club as the “secret hideout plan”.
