Passing Mastermind to Tactical Maestro – The Xabi Alonso Era Begins

What’s funny is how both posts above accidentally prove the point they’re mocking. Elite clubs don’t implode because players have opinions. They implode when the coach can’t balance authority with trust and clarity. Turning every disagreement into “lol locker room anarchy” is just a way to dodge that uncomfortable middle ground.

Okay, so doing that thing where you take one word, strip it of context then sprint off like you caught someone committing a crime.

Did not say Barca suddenly turned into Simeone’s Atleti with ten men behind the ball. “cautious” here is relative, not philosophical. Even aggressive teams modulate risk depending on the threat in front of them. That means yelling “BUT THEY ATTACK ANYWAY” doesn’t change the fact that the moment the outlet disappeared, they turned the pressure dial to max.

 

They should have a poll.

 

Pretty ironic that it looks like Mbappe dropped his player power persona when coming to Madrid and was met by an even bigger shitshow of player power here.

 

The same is the case with the managers of top EPL teams like Maresca, Amorim, Arteta and Arne Slot. None of them have spectacular resumes.

So I assume your only top candidate would be Pep himself?

 

The remontada for the season begins Sunday. @Ssr9 back me up with some of that always-appreciated optimism.

 

Remember that 4x4 doesn’t like Xabi because Leverkusen beat his beloved Bayern.

 

I do find it interesting that the it was Carlo’s fault crowd it’s also the it isn’t Xabi’s fault

selective rage I believe is what the term is

 

I think Xabi is making some of the same decisions with lineups and subs that frustrated us with CA last year. But both coaches have the same challenges due to our defense all being out injured. Like last season, this season the board has set the manager up for failure.

 

The "stuff" turned around immediately last season from the year before when the team won CL and La Liga playing with Vini-Jude-Rodrygo front three.

Why in the world did he switch from the diamond 442 that worked so brilliantly and why in the world does Jude no longer playing as a false 9 or in the hole as a #10 and Rodrygo banished to the bench.

WHAT HAPPENED? Why switch systems? How can a team that was that good become so bad just becuase of a new system, are the new players also to blame?

He might have "respect" from the rest of the football world or he might be living the rest of his career off of that cinderella unbeaten season at Leverkusen, a one season wonder at this point.




And that's the "rest" of the world, which doesn't matter internally at the club.

Internally I think there are probably people at the club who remember when Xabi got in his feelings about the club signing James and Kroos, threw a hissy fit and demanded a transfer to Bayern because he wanted untouchable status and not to be competing against younger, hungrier players who were also more talented.

His selfishness put Carlo and the club in a terrible spot as most people remember the team was thin in midfield didn't have any DM. Then Xabi rides in to save the day 10 years later after the club does the exact same thing to Carlo, AGAIN, and leaves him without an adequately filled roster to compete for silverware.







Personally I think Xabi was still a little too green for this job. Kind of like Carlo at Juve (first real "big" club) where the team was OK but prior to Carlo in the late 90's they were CL favorites every year and the standards were sky high with Balon d'Or winner Zidane. In the end I think Xabi will come good but I think that time may still be a ways off and probably happens at another club.

 

It's not Xabi's fault because IT IS Carlo's fault.


Let's be honest here if Carlo hadn't been so wildly succesfull winning CL and La Liga's then the standards and expectation would be a lot lower and nobody would even think about comparing the two managers, yet here we are and it's clearly only one man's fault.

 

Lets bring Wenger or Ferguson out of retirement then. Their resume is spectacular.

Klopp was there this summer but it was like nah he doesn't know the club and is too hands on.

The funniest thing is how you of all people complain the most about how Madrid fans are so entitled and demanding.

I guess its Zidane or just let the team coach itself then. btw Zidane was nothing compared to Xabi in terms of resume when we hired him btw.

I find it interesting that youre incapable of letting go your petty grievances in this situation. Miserable obsession is what the term is I believe. Do you intend to cry about Ancelotti when the next coach is here? Or should we beg for Ancelotti to return? He has the resume after all.

Amazing that youre still incapable if processing the simple facts that

a) Ancelotti is not a tactical coach
b) this team has no tactical direction

and yet somehow letting him go was a mistake because the tactical coach we got instead was obstructed in his work by a bunch of ridiculous people despite showing solid progress from the beginning of the season.

 

This is great bait lol

 

Yeah, thats just wrong.

They were LOSING A CLASICO, on top of having Flick as manager. If anything, I can tell you that most would say that that team/that manager aren't "cautious," like, at all.

When does Barca NOT "turn the pressure dial to max?"

FFS, even down a man, Flick has "the pressure dial to max." (As in the away fixture to Chelski, for example.) Even WINNING in minute 90, he wants "the pressure dial to max." (As in the away leg to Inter in the UCL, and piles of other games.)

Support your player over your manager, if you want. But citing "Barca was cautious," or Flick didn't have "the pressure dial to max" is just outright wrong.

Both for THAT situation (losing in minute ~72, in A CLASICO), and for THAT manager.

 

The only similiarity is that theyre both football coaches.

And no until the clasico and especially culminating with the clasico we played solid football with better pressing, quicker passing combinations and more effort. Until then its the best you can do after years of Ancelotti and being stuck with Mbappe and Vinicius up top. After the clasico it fell apart. How ironic is it that we dominated that damn match.

 

You’re shadowboxing an argument nobody made. what’s being said is risk modulation, not “pressure on/off.” Those are different things, even if you keep pretending they’re the same. I DID NOT say Flick doesn’t press. nobody is saying Barca suddenly chill.

Repeating Flick presses when winning or losing like a mantra does NOT refute my point.

There are levels to how many bodies you commit and how aggressively you hold your line depending on the threat behind you. Before Vini went off Barca pressed but kept a hedge. One CB stays half a step deeper. The rest shape their press knowing one bad turnover means a SPRINT RACE they probably lose. After Vini went off, that calculation vanished.

You bringing up Inter, Chelsea, random other matches doesn’t change that. Different opponents, different outlets. So please keep that "support player over manager" jab away. This ISN'T player v manager., It’s about decision vs consequence.

 

Again, Flick gives zero rips about "risk modulation." (Nice goalpost move off of "Barca were cautious," BTW.)

Your argument has been "Barça was cautious,"

1. in a Clasico they were losing,
2. with Yamal on that side of the pitch, and
3. with that manager.

You were and are wrong to argue that, full stop, on any of those bases.

Actually, I watch more Barça than you do, and I can tell you that he does press all the time, and it does absolutely refute the ridiculous idea that "Barca were cautious."

Wrong. Specific to:

1. That team,
2. That manager,
3. That fixture, and
4. (The piece you want to ignore) that it was Lamine Yamal on that side of the pitch.

What, is Yamal suddenly gonna sit in deep because an exhausted Vini is still on the pitch? Come on, dude.

Because your argument is wholly wrong, with specific examples, both in that match, and every other match Flick manages.


And yes, you choose to support the player over the manager. Which is cool. You're allowed to have your own opinion, but you're not allowed to manufacture your own facts.

 

I don't understand people defending Xabi. It must be just a bias 'cause of who he is or a defense mechanism now as they probably screamed for Ancelotti to be fired and that we needed a "tactical manager" like Xabi.

We were all wrong about this guy. It's ok.

He does not have the personality, the charisma, the presence, the authority to manage a club like Real Madrid. This doesn't need explaining much, look how he has managed the players, you have die-hard players like Valverde who would die on the pitch for Carlo not even bothering. No one respects him. His press conferences are like an AI version of Xabi, he doesn't inspire anything with anything he says. Nothing. I'm not surprised players are not taking in his instructions. Not since lopetegui have I seen someone with less charisma.

He is not a manager. He cannot manage. He is a coach. Big difference. This is too big for him. He will be successful elsewhere at a smaller club.

 

You’re still arguing against a strawman you invented and then declaring victory over it.

When I said they were cautious, I meant they still pressed, but they left a bit of insurance behind the ball because Vini on the touchline is a transition threat you actually respect. Nobody presses with 10 men stacked in the final third every second unless they’re trying to concede on purpose.

Yamal is EXACTLY why they want to lock us in. But that only works if they can shove both fullbacks and both CBs high without worrying about getting lit up in the space they leave. With Vini still there, that space is danger.

If you want to pretend “barca always press” means there are zero levels to how they commit numbers and hold their line, you’re the one manufacturing facts.

You watch more barca than me? Cool. but that flex is not an argument, it’s just you putting your hand up in class. Congrats, now go apply at Barca TV.

 

You could have just said you were born in the mid 2000s and spare us this garbage.

Did you also know also that Cristiano Ronaldo is actually a very humble person and that Pepe is a gentle soul? Since were going down the hot take path.

Hm please do say who he is and how who he is is causing us bias.

 

As Iñigo Montoya said, "that word does not mean what you think it means."

Dude, you LITERALLY post, "Barca were being cautious," so there's no strawman, like, at all.

And we've already covered that you're wrong, based on several different angles:

1. Flick is anything BUT "cautious,"
2. Barça were losing, and had to push for an equalizer,
3. Yamal doesn't sit deep,
4. This version of Barca isn't the defending machine Xavi had a few seasons ago.

Which means you're taking out of your ass when you claim, "Barca were being cautious."

Again, support the player over the manager, if you like.

 

Yes, i used the word “cautious.” You want a different word so you can stop hyperventilating? Fine: they were less reckless with their rest defense while Vini was still on the pitch.
Same idea, fewer feelings.

Pick whichever wording makes you happiest:
1.cautious
2.less reckless
3. kept one eye on transition
4. didn’t fully sell out

1. Flick being “anything but cautious” as a personality trait doesn’t change the fact that every high pressing team still has to decide how many bodies to throw forward and how much protection to leave behind.
You keep acting like Flick’s brain is just a single button labeled PRESS MAXIMUM and nothing else.

2. We've already established that Yamal being on that side is exactly why you need to think about what happens when you lose the ball. If your opponent still has Vini as an outlet, you don’t push both fullbacks and both CBs to the moon at the same time.

nah, that’s just you taking the word “cautious” up your ass and pretending it disproves match flow.

Im supporting the idea that taking off your best transition threat makes it easier for Barca to lock you in. If that's incomprehensible to you, maybe take help of your other mates at Barca TV

 

Thank you for agreeing with me.