Advertisement
Advertisement
Xabi Alonso is looking forward to “starting from scratch” with Real Madrid next season after being thrown in at the deep end as coach of the Spanish giants in the Club World Cup.
Alonso was given a reality check on Wednesday as Madrid were eliminated 4-0 by European champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the semi-final at the MetLife Stadium.
“PSG are a team who have been built over time, whereas we are practically just beginning,” Alonso said after seeing Real Madrid go two goals behind inside nine minutes.
It was 3-0 before half-time, and PSG added a late fourth as they advanced to Sunday’s final against Chelsea.
“We have lots of room for improvement. There are many things that we want to do better,” Alonso added.
“We have to be self-critical. This will tell us things for the future that will help us to compete at a much better level than we did today.”
Xabi Alonso was appointed at the end of May, taking over from Carlo Ancelotti after a successful two-and-a-half years at Bayer Leverkusen.
Real Madrid finished as runners-up to Barcelona in La Liga and the Copa del Rey, and went out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals against Arsenal.
The Basque technician, a former Madrid player, would have preferred a full pre-season with his squad before being thrust into competitive action, and it was always going to be a big ask for them to beat PSG’s well-oiled machine.
“They are at a very high level and have been since the start of the knockout phase of the Champions League,” Xabi Alonso said.
“They have shown it again here and we have to accept it — we are just beginning, learning things about where we want to go and how we are going to get there.”
Real eased into the knockout phase of the Club World Cup despite being held by Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia in their opening game.
They then recorded narrow wins over Juventus and Borussia Dortmund prior to Wednesday’s defeat.
Alonso’s La Liga debut as Real coach is scheduled to be on Tuesday, August 19, at home to Osasuna.
Attempts to have the fixture postponed have so far been unsuccessful, meaning there are fewer than six weeks for the players to have a break and then embark on a full pre-season with their new coach.
READ: Paris Saint-Germain thrash Real Madrid to reach Club World Cup final
