No one can survive a year, Xavi Alonso challenges Real Madrid s "Spanish coach curse"

Xavi Alonso challenged Real Madrid's "Spanish Coach"

When Xavi Alonso returned to Real Madrid as head coach, he took over not only a team, but also a complex and heavy historical legacy - here, glory and destruction coexist, and every moment in the spotlight is full of tests.

The real challenge for Alonso

For Alonso, the real challenge is not just to lead Real Madrid to gain the upper hand in the competition with Barcelona. The bigger problem is to break a "curse" that lasted for nearly two decades: since 2003, no Spanish coach has been able to successfully complete a full season at Real Madrid, let alone win trophy.

Twenty years, six losers, a history that is unbearable to look back on

Since Boske led Real Madrid to win seven championships, including two Champions Leagues, the club began to try to use local coaches. But the result is a series of disappointing names: Camacho, Garcia Ramon, Lopez Carlo, Juander Ramos, Benitez, and Lopetegui. Without exception, they failed to survive a full season, and no one brought back even a trophy for Real Madrid. If you really want to name this period, it can only be: "short, confusing, failure."

Benitez was once regarded as the starting point of a long-term plan. He came with the Champions League resume brought by Liverpool, but was dismissed after coaching for 215 days and 25 games. From day one, he has raised questions about not publicly calling Ronaldo the world's best player; he corrected Modric's passing style in tactical details and even tried to re-formulate locker room rules. What these practices ultimately resulted in is the indifference and alienation of superstars - something that never happened in the Ancelotti era.

Lopetegui's experience was even more dismal. After only 137 days and 14 games, he was forced to leave after a 1-5 defeat to Barcelona. At that time, there were no more soul figures like Ronaldo in the locker room, and it was impossible to fill the gap. In a club where "dressing room culture is above everything else", the former Spanish national coach is swallowed up like a stranger.

Even Camacho, who was once a symbol of Spanish football, was fired in his sixth game after returning to Real Madrid in 2004. He once admitted: "As long as we win, no one will bother me. But in order to win, I have to let the players know who the opponent is. Even if they are Galaxy battleships, I have to tell them how to play." His philosophy may be correct, but it is not suitable for the Real Madrid environment.

Florentino and "non-local coaching" preferences

When talking about the "Spanish coaching curse", we must mention the strongest figure of the Bernabeu - Chairman Florentino Perez. From refusing to renew his contract with Del Boske (although the latter just led the team to win the championship) to frequent mid-range change of coaches, Perez always favors the "international, modern and easy to control" coaching image.

Ironically, it was the chairman who once criticized Del Boske for his “lack of tactical depth” who later fell into a chaotic cycle led by his own coach. Data shows that in Real Madrid, foreign coaches have won 62 trophies, while local coaches have won only 53. This not only reflects the gap in coaching ability, but also reveals a reality: the "power ecology" of the Bernabeu is more suitable for "outsiders" who will not be deeply involved in internal disputes and can control the personality of superstars.

So, what is the difference between Alonso?

First of all, he is not an outsider. As a former Real Madrid player, he worked with Mourinho and Ancelotti and knew the rules of the game at the Bernabeu. More importantly, he proved his coaching strength at Leverkusen: he kept the league unbeaten all season, won the domestic double championship, and created a team with strict discipline, modern style, and efficient offense and defense.

However, Leverkusen is not Real Madrid after all. At the Bernabeu, victory is the bottom line, and sometimes even victory is not enough to calm doubts. Zidane was also suspected after winning the Champions League in the first season, and Ancelotti was still fired after winning the King's Cup and La Liga runner-up.

Alonso brings a unique balance: both the modern thinking of European football and the sober mentality of "knowing where you are". He may not repeat the overly dogmatic mistakes of Benitez, nor will he be as weak as Lopetegui. But he must complete a task that no one has been able to accomplish in the past two decades: becoming the first Spanish local coach to succeed at Real Madrid.

The question now is no longer "Is Alonso good enough?" but "Is Real Madrid ready to accept a successful local coach?"

In an era when power structures are tilted towards the locker room, patience becomes a luxury, and pressure comes from the chairman himself, Alonso is standing at a critical crossroads that determines the direction of his coaching career.

If he fails, he will only become another name on the Bernabeu's "passerby" list; but if successful, Alonso will not only rewrite the history of Real Madrid, but also legitimize the local coaches - writing his own legend in that land that was once considered not to belong to them.