"Dani (Ceballos), you don't understand anything!" There was Álvaro Arbeloa, with black boots and a trimmed beard, walking between the two circles of Real Madrid on field 1 of Valdebebas. Some smiles here, some chats there, and Antonio Pintus and Niko Mihic running alongside him. The Italian, as the new head of the first team's fitness, the Croatian, as the head of the medical services. Both have returned to the pitch, and to their positions, at the explicit request of Florentino Pérez, who on Monday decided to end Xabi Alonso's era, with the cup full due to the Basque's refusal to allow the return of the Italian to daily life, and start the times of Arbeloa, Pintus, and Mihic.
Without Mbappé, Rodrygo, Trent, Militao, Mendy, or Rüdiger, the new coach of the white team experienced a first day of introductions, intentions, and hints. He arrived at the sports city at seven in the morning, two hours before his players, and outlined the first days of the team with his coaching staff. They will be followed by his most loyal assistants from Castilla, with Julián Carmona as the second, Kevin Cardeiro as the assistant, and Francis Sánchez as the analyst. The fitness coach of the reserve team, Ricardo da Silva, also moves up to the first team to work under Pintus, who also brings in his trusted man for daily tasks, Sébastien Devillaz. Diego López, former Madrid goalkeeper and goalkeeping coach at Castilla, will remain in the reserve team because Lluis Llopis, a trusted coach of the club and Courtois, continues with the first team.
He led his first session for just over an hour and appeared in the press room at Valdebebas around two in the afternoon. Twenty minutes of appearance, with Emilio Butragueño by his side, to give some insight into his style and send messages, direct and indirect, about the new era.
Arbeloa focused his message on the players, especially on Vinicius Junior, in a speech that perfectly reflects Florentino Pérez's intention in choosing him as a coach. "They are the ones that matter. They should be able to express themselves, be happy, and enjoy, that's what this is all about," he said about the squad. A response that directly contrasts with the problems Alonso has had in recent months, with part of the dressing room in rebellion against his coaching staff's methods and the rigidity of exercises and tactics in matches. The players complained to Florentino, and that's where Xabi's end began, reprimanded by the club after substituting and upsetting Vinicius in the Clásico against Barcelona.
"Vinicius is one of the most disruptive players in the world and one of the most beloved by the fans. We all saw the Super Cup final, and that's the Vini we want to see, the Vini who smiles and dances," declared Arbeloa, in another direct message.
The new coach arrives at the first team with a contract that is not public at the moment, although various sources at Valdebebas assure that it is for the remainder of the season and one more. "I will be here as long as Madrid wants me," said the coach, whose salary has been improved from Castilla, and will receive various bonuses based on the objectives set by the president.
In front of the media, whom he greeted by their first names in most questions, he was ironic in some responses: "That's two questions, right?", "I was expecting the Mourinho question," "as if not to remember it (Vinicius's upset in the Clásico)," were some of his interactions with the press.
On the microphone, his conversation with Xabi after the change was announced, which he was informed of a few minutes before it became official, the "friendship" that binds him and will "continue to bind" him with the Basque, the "privilege" it is for him to "work with Pintus," the "enthusiasm, as much as mine" he saw in the dressing room on his debut, and the "happiness." "I told them that the best stage of my life was being a Madrid player, they are all good guys, and no one more than them wants to win titles here." And he closed with a hint towards the winter transfer market: "We have an extraordinary squad."