Alvaro Arbeloa: Indulging Vinicius does not bring victory

Xabi Alonso is not "anti" Vinicius but aims to correct the problems his teacher Carlo Ancelotti avoided addressing. It is the lack of balance in the game, affected by personal egos.

In his final year at the Bernabeu, the Italian strategist received an overly large gift from President Florentino Perez. That is Kylian Mbappe. The influence of the French forward exceeded even the imagination of a dressing room psychology master like Carletto.

Skill in managing big personalities did not help the Italian tactician. Real suffered a serious imbalance between attack and defense, and the team also lost psychological stability as the attacking stars became envious of each other.

The collapse of the Galacticos was inevitable, as they lacked a true leader above all to maintain consistent morale in the dressing room and on the pitch. Dani Carvajal has been around long enough to wear the captain's armband, but he is not the leader to guide the entire team.

Alonso simply does not "pamper" the players' egos, and this goes against on-field interests, as well as the wishes of President Perez. The departure of this legend was so clear that people knew what Arbeloa would do after taking the helm at the Bernabeu.

Arbeloa does not want to repeat Alonso's management issues. From the start, the former Castilla coach focused on the Brazilian forward as a way to cool conflicts, purify the toxic atmosphere in the dressing room, and maximize the form of the number 7 as Ancelotti did.

In this aspect, the 43-year-old coach was correct, and Vinicius once again played explosively and showed determination in front of the opponent's goal. But the change so far has not yielded the desired results. Arbeloa is trapped in the "Vinicius system," because beyond individual performances and goals, the team's collective play has not developed.

The Galacticos still try to cling to number 7 as demanded by the coach, which is to seek out the 25-year-old forward throughout the match. Every attacking move revolves around him. As a result, Real has become a predictable team easily neutralized by well-organized defenses. A typical example is the defeat against Getafe last weekend.

Coach Bordalas' plan that night was very clear: mark Vinicius tightly, with supporting players constantly helping teammates to achieve this goal. Juan Iglesias and Kiko Femenia often created two-against-one situations against number 7, preventing him from making a difference. Bordalas instructed players to close gaps and circulate the ball in an organized manner. Now, everyone knows the white-clad team is stuck due to a lack of tactical options.

And the worst part is that Real has little reason for optimism. They face a difficult schedule without their top scorer Mbappe. While Arbeloa has not brought any collective progress beyond improving Vinicius' form and morale. But the team also fails because it relies too much on number 7.