Real Madrid: Former boss Fabio Capello slams Xabi Alonso for a lack of flexibility
Real Madrid beat Real Betis 5-1 at the weekend but the situation at the Bernabeu remains unstable
Fabio Capello has questioned Xabi Alonso’s approach at Real Madrid and suggested he has not adapted his philosophy to suit the players at his disposal.
Capello, who won La Liga in each of his two spells in charge at the Bernabeu, has watched from afar as Alonso has struggled to implement the high press, high energy game that was so successful at Bayer Leverkusen.
Madrid are second in the Spanish top flight, four points behind arch rivals Barcelona, at the midway point of the domestic season.
Capello, speaking to Marca, said Alonso should tweak his ideas to get the best out of the squad.
The Italian said: “I always say that you have to make the wine with the grapes you have. If you want to make champagne but you don’t have champagne grapes, you’re not going to make champagne… When you arrive at a new place you have to know where you are going to work.”
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Real Madrid’s player have never pressed, says Capello
Madrid’s problems appear to stem from an unwillingness from certain players to press, but Capello insists that is not new.
“These players have never pressed, never, and they are not going to do it,” he added. “With [former boss Carlo] Ancelotti they didn’t press either. It’s one thing to go back and place yourself in an area where they help the team, but do you really want them to press? They don’t have that ability, they can’t do it.
“We are talking about players who when they have the ball they hurt the opposition, and when the team does not have it they must come back, but not to put pressure on.
“Nowadays it seems that everything consists of pressing. Then there are individual cases in which a player if he does not press, okay, he does not press, but when we have the ball he has to do something good, different, and that is when you have to demand things from him. If he doesn’t work 100% without the ball, let him do it at 70% at least. When you have players who make a difference, you have to think about that as well.”
‘A negative leader can be a major problem’
It has been reported Alonso’s methods are not supported by several Madrid players while the former Spain international has also had to contend with a fall-out with star winger Vinicius Jr.
Capello said: “Everywhere you go there is something different. And the more stars there are, the more difficult it is, because they also have their leadership, and you have to get them to put that leadership in favour of the team, not just in their own favour.
“The most difficult thing is to have a negative leader, because it can be a major problem.”
Ancelotti seemed to get the balance right before quitting Madrid to take on the Brazil national team ahead of this summer’s World Cup.
“Carlo is ‘the teacher’,” said Capello of his fellow Italian. “He was my player and I know him very well. He has a natural leadership: he seems lazy but he is not lazy, he seems calm but when it is time to say things clearly to the team, he tells them. He knows how to have the team on his side.”