Real Madrid Appoints Álvaro Arbeloa as New Head Coach

Real Madrid has appointed Álvaro Arbeloa as the new head coach of the first team following the dismissal of Xabi Alonso, which came the day after losing the Spanish Supercup final to Barcelona. "Real Madrid CF announces that Álvaro Arbeloa is the new coach of the first team," the club announced in a statement. Arbeloa has been in charge of Castilla since June 2025, taking over from Raúl González, and his entire coaching career has developed within the Madrid academy, where he began in the 2020/21 season leading the Infantil A team, with whom he was crowned league champion. As a player, Arbeloa wore the Real Madrid shirt between 2009 and 2016, playing 238 official matches and winning eight titles: 2 European Cups, 1 Club World Cup, 1 European Super Cup, 1 La Liga, 2 Copa del Rey, and 1 Spanish Super Cup. The Real Madrid statement does not specify the duration of Álvaro Arbeloa's contract as head coach of the first team, whose first challenge will be this Wednesday, visiting Albacete for the Copa del Rey round of 16. Real Madrid has decided to part ways with Xabi Alonso after losing the Spanish Supercup final to Barcelona, and the statement informs that "by mutual agreement" with the coach, "they have decided to end his tenure as head coach of the first team." An Arbeloa who takes the first team bench after just a few months at RM Castilla, where he has the Madrid reserve team in fourth place in Group 1 of Primera RFEF. "Xabi Alonso will always have the affection and admiration of all madridistas because he is a Real Madrid legend and has always represented the values of our club. Real Madrid will always be his home," the statement assures. As coach of Juvenil A, he achieved the treble in the 2022-2023 season (League, Copa del Rey, and Copa de Campeones) and the League in the 2024-2025 season. After this, he coached Cadete A in the 2021-2022 season and Juvenil A from 2022 to 2025.