No Retreat, No Surrender - El Espartano Alvaro Arbeloa Manager Thread

The "grey sofa" makes me think of other things

 

Is it bad I had the exact same thought?

 

Arbeloa asks Vinicius for permission to take him out .. and Vini gives him the approval to Subbed out pic.twitter.com/i4JR8jezyj

— KinG £ (@xKGx__) March 23, 2026

I would like him too if I was Vinicius.

 

The ego isn't the only thing he's stroking.

 

I'd have Huijsen there, he's regained his best form and deserves it.

 

The video doesn't even show anything, it's just a clip of Arbeloa and Vini talking to each other 2 minutes before the sub. Even forewarning him about the sub during a pause is not a big problem at all, but I guess if you're a broadcaster you can just put the camera on Vini and inshallah.

 

This is normal
He’s a big player and you ask him how he’s feeling on the pitch before taking him off
It’s called communication

 

Just check back a couple of pages and see how Arbeloa was heavily mocked for his style. Heavily criticized as brainless and embarrassing.

Well anyways, let's hope he gets a trophy or those voices will return and even louder.

 

I suggest you not jump the gun.

Let's see if the team still plays well with Mbappe and Jude starting. Everyone knows the issues.

 

Álvaro Arbeloa in Paris with Jose Callejon and his family. 🤍 pic.twitter.com/6gh1wKzP7o

— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) March 30, 2026

 

All this talk about how he changed the team....he didint change anything ,he got lucky the problems(Mbappe and Jude) got injured and he got a few good results out of that as the other players were releaved of the issues these people bring ....then they got back and it is the same old

 

What’s his record compared to Xabi?

not trying to start a debate, just genuinely curious if we have moved the needle

 

Xabi managed 34 games at Madrid, posting 24W / 4D / 6L. Points per match is at 2.24.

Alvaro managed 17 games at Madrid, posting 17W / 0D / 4L. PPM is 2.29.

If we are strictly talking about the league,

Xabi managed 19 La Liga games, won 14, drew 3 and lost 2.

Arbs managed 11 La Liga games, won 8, lost 3, including today.

 

For me the biggest difference is how the team competes against better sides. Xabi seemed to set up the team quite well against minnows, but looked totally second rate against good sides. On the other hand, I get the impression that Arbeloa goes "lads, it's Tottenham" for the Getafes and Osasunas, but brings out the war chest for the Man Citys and Atleticos.

Obviously it's not as black and white as that. Xabi, with more time, could've improved the team's performance against better sides, or Arbeloa, being afforded the same time and resources as Xabi, may have found a way to motivate the players against worse sides this time of the season.

In a perfect world we have an Alvabi Arbelonso. Same perfect world where winning games is as easy as not playing Jude and Mbappe.

 

You don't win leagues on good vibes. You need a system. Period. Everyone is fired up in the CL and plays their best - just like we do against bigger rivals in LaLiga, but often times it's precisely the minnows we fail against because the motivation and discipline is not there. It is so painfully visible, players not running or pressing or pushing as a team... Also, we often times relax when Barca slips up instead of going crazy after smelling blood. This has cost us many times in the past. I hear the people calling out the return of Jude and Mbappe as an additional "problem", but this weird psychological self-burn has been around this club for a while.

It's not a surprise that the last time we managed to win two LaLigas in a row was 2007 & 2008. Since then Barca won 10 titles (11 if they win this one), while we managed 5 titles wins. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the fact we put so much focus on the Champions League titles. I love the 15 titles as much as the next Madridista, of course, but we can't keep letting Barca run away with LaLiga wins. Sure, I know some will say Barca had the historic team and corrupt refs, but they also had very poor management for a long time now combined with poor financial situation - and they're still winning LaLigas in a row instead of us. At some point, you just have to call a spade a spade. We've allowed for the club culture to shift primarily into a CL glory nights stories, while neglecting the every day mundane job of beating the likes of Espanyol, Betis, Valencia, Celta, Osasuna, Getafe, Mallorca... The dopamine hit of great CL nights is so high that the lame ass LaLiga stadiums bore some players in contrast, it seems.

Arbeloa has had decent moments so far, but I am adamant that if we don't win anything we need to scrap the whole thing and move on big name players + bring on a proven winner of a coach. If we have two trophyless seasons the socios will turn the Bernabeu into a lake of fire. And I may bloody go and boo alongside them.

 

At this rate, Barca will overtake Madrid as the club the most Ligas in history within a decade. Not a good look.

 

At least never in CLs

 

Generally agree with your post. But I think there is a little bit of Barcelonitis going on if we're referring back to an era where the club had to compete against arguably the best club side in history (MSN). The club responded quite well to that era, all things considered, and in the meantime Barcelona hasn't won the UCL since 2015. Can't have it all unless you have Messi, Suarez, and Neymar front-lining your attack.

As for booing, you should boo if the team can't get passed Bayern, because then it was all for nothing. Never mind waiting till the end of the season.

I really enjoyed the 23/24 team, which heavily involved Bellingham and Camavinga, players who are being heavily scapegoated today. The blueprint was out there.

 

I think I'm going to backtrack a little bit now that the dust has settled. It really hasn't been that bad.

For reference, from 2012-2016 the club went through a 4 year spell without winning La Liga. Atletico won it once, Barca three times. In this period, the club won the UCL twice, and since then Real Madrid has won La Liga 4 times, Barca 4 times, Atletico once.

Historically I've found myself defending the boo culture more often than not. I don't think it should stop, because it is a reminder that above all this is a spectacle, and major titles are the centerpiece of the spectacle.

But getting all boohoo about not winning two La Ligas in a row since 2008 is just entitlement. It has been GREAT up until the last two seasons. The vilification of Mbappe by his most vocal anti-fans, and the Vini "cultism" is a direct response to that.

Let's criticize the club for how it has handled everything post 2023/2024. Scrapping everything and bringing in a "proven winner of a coach" (you mean like Ancelotti?) is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

 

Fact is the club has let Barca get within striking distance of the total La Liga titles record (36/28).

If things continue for the next 10-20 years the same as they have the past 20 years, then there's a good chance Barca cathes up.

This is as much due simply to motivation on the part of Barca institutiohnally as it is complacency on the part of Madrid institutionally, Barca has never consistently had the better team or players.


Which honestly was one of the most perplexing things about the whole supeleague debacle, like the club really wanted to start from scratch, zero, nothing, nada and compete with the oil clubs.

 

Real Madrid should use free chatgpt to plan against Bayern since the medical team already relies on it. Oh wait...it thinks Rodrygo is not injured and Joselu still plays for this team. Nvm.

 

For bayern, bench mbappe and Jude for the 1st half. Play pitarch, stay in the tie. Bring mbappe 2nd half if we need goals. Do not concede. Take a lead to the 2nd leg. Play Jude and Mbappe 2nd leg when Bayern are chasing. We go through.

 

This is where I slightly disagree with you, but I also think you're missing the forest for the trees.

The main point I made in my previous comment was that we're simply not disciplined and motivated enough in La Liga/domestically. And this has been a problem for the club for a while now. That's the crux of the issue here. Not simply "not winning two La Ligas in a row".

Frustration comes from the fact we're "wasting" an opportunity to build up some dominance in Spain. It's a fact that we are considerably stronger/more stable than Barcelona when we compare our current financial situations. I think this HAS to be mentioned in any conversation about domestic performances. My long term peeve (as a fan) is not just about this current squad of players, the current president, the current market, or anything that will pass; it's about the course the club is on and how it can affect us long term as an institution. This is about what the name "Real Madrid" means and how we're using said advantage to build a legacy that will work to maintain what the name "Real Madrid" means in 20 years.

Also, as a supporter, it is precisely because Barcelona had that historic team from 2009-2015 that it irks me even more that we're slacking so much in Spain now. I had to witness those years, just like you did. The corrupt refereeing + Barca players constantly swarming the refs, the massive media propaganda machine behind Barca, the constant invoking of the past with Franco as "proof" of Barca's purity or virtue, the insufferable proclamations that only tiki-taka is the real football and that everybody else is playing anti-football, the fact sports journalists voted for Messi in the ballon d'or because he's a "good guy"... We suffered quite a bit as a club back in those days, we should be using every moment and every opportunity to dominate now. Instead it feels like we're being dominated again - the last two years at least.

Considering we're the biggest club in the world, the picture below makes me pretty annoyed as a fan. This is us in domestic competitions since 2008/2009.



14 domestic titles won out of 54 possible titles (this season included). That's not great at all. Also, let's not kid ourselves and say that supercopa and copa del rey are unimportant - if they were unimportant none of us would be here for the matchday threads and the players would stay at home. Barca can also brag more total domestic titles when all trophies are considered. Not a fan of that either tbh.

In the last 12 years at least, we've had a team that can obviously produce on the biggest stage in Europe. The fact we're beating the likes of Man City in the CL, while losing the La Liga race in games like vs Mallorca, or Copa del Rey vs Albacete is precisely what my problem is. It's also the fact we're losing La Ligas to a financially troubled Barcelona. I was not simply expressing my disappointment about us not winning two La Ligas in a row, I was annoyed that this Barca despite all their problems seem to have no problem achieving that, while we can't. Because we're oftentimes just lacking motivation and discipline.

Again, sometimes it seems like this team is playing for the dopamine moments, not for the shirt. They do kiss the badge all the time, but when it comes down to showing hustle and sacrifice against minnows in La Liga they often disappear.

Aye, we're spoiled as fans, but two trophyless years in a row is a debacle of seismic proportions at a club like Real Madrid. This is not simply "entitlement", this is a catastrophe.

The expectations for this club are set by the generations of previous presidents, managers, players, staff and fans. Yes, the expectations are very high. Florentino expects a lot from his managers, and the supporters expect a lot from Florentino and his appointees. The manager and the players get paid in line with the high expectations because the supporters pay a lot of money for shirts, matchday tickets and merch to support the club financially.

Arbeloa has had some decent moments as a manager, but at the moment he is not a proven winner at this level. Maybe he will be one day, but I'd rather we don't settle for a "maybe" after 2 years without trophies. I need to see a serious commitment by the club to recognize mistakes and fix them by investing big in the right areas, and bringing in a manager with the pedigree. Perhaps Allegri, or someone similar that could fit the mould. This is not me being anti Arbeloa, in my opinion out of all the people involved he's the least to blame; and I know Allegri will probably get the Italy NT job in the summer. This is just me thinking all of the above makes it a priority for Florentino and the board to start treating domestic competitions with the seriousness and respect that a club of this stature deserves.

 

People were saying that we have the 3 best players in the world 2 years ago in Fraudbappe,Vinicius and Jude.....and in the end 2 trophyless seasons with terrible football,attitude on the pitch etc

The club is collapsing infront of our eyes after the worst signing in history but people are afraid to say it and think a new coach will bring us to the top....it won't happen till the 2 useless galacticos are sold

 

How the mods haven’t kicked you yet is beyond me. Must have some leeway on this board. It’s not even constructive, just ranting for the sake of it.

Honestly, It would be a dream if Mbappe bagged a hattrick tomorrow because I’d be none stop.