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Who is new Real Madrid manager Álvaro Arbeloa?
Real Madrid have a new first-team coach, as the club announced that Álvaro Arbeloa has taken over from Xabi Alonso following the latter's dismissal on Monday.
Alonso had only joined Real Madrid as head coach last year, stepping into the role at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup after a successful stint at Bayer Leverkusen in which he led the German side to a domestic treble in 2024. The 44-year-old, a former Real Madrid player, was in charge for 34 matches and guided the the team to 24 wins and an unbeaten run through the first six games of the current Champions League campaign, but Real Madrid trail Barcelona by four points in La Liga, and their loss to their rivals in the Supercopa de España final on Sunday hastened Alonso's exit.
"By mutual agreement between the club and Xabi Alonso, it has been decided to end his tenure as coach," a club statement read. "Xabi Alonso will always have the love and admiration of all Madrid fans because he is a Real Madrid legend and has always represented the values of our club. Real Madrid will always be his home.
"Our club thanks Xabi Alonso and his entire technical team for their work and dedication during this time, and wishes them the best of luck in this new stage of their lives."
So who exactly is Alonso's replacement, and what should Real Madrid supporters expect from the club’s newest head coach?
Who is new Real Madrid manager Álvaro Arbeloa?
Taking Alonso's place is another longtime former Real Madrid and Spain player in Arbeloa, whose hiring was officially announced at the same time as his predecessor's dismissal. Just five days shy of his 43rd birthday, Arbeloa takes over one of the biggest entities in all of sport with relatively little first-team experience — none in fact.
A full-back with a wealth of experience and accolades on the playing side, Arbeloa came up through the Real Madrid system after starting his youth career at Real Zaragoza, featuring for Real Madrid's C and B teams before making his first-team debut in 2004. He moved on to Deportivo La Coruna and Liverpool before returning to Madrid ahead of the 2009-2010 season.
Arbeloa "was part of Real Madrid in one of the most successful periods of its history," the club wrote in his hiring announcement. "He defended our shirt between 2009 and 2016, in 238 official matches. During that time he won eight trophies: two European Cups, one Club World Cup, one Uefa Super Cup, one LaLiga title, two Copa del Rey trophies and one Spanish Super Cup."
During that successful second spell with Real Madrid, Arbeloa played the bulk of his 56 international games for Spain, winning the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2008 and Euro 2012 in the process.
Arbeloa left Real Madrid in the summer of 2016 to join West Ham United, but he only made four total appearances for the Premier League side before calling time on his playing career after 15 seasons as a professional.
@aarbeloa17
Arbeloa returned to Real Madrid in 2020 to start his coaching career, winning the league title with the Under-14s A in 2020-21. He then moved on to guide the U-16s in the 2021-2022 season before spending three years as the U-19s coach, leading that team to the treble (League, Copa del Rey and Champions Cup) in 2022-23 and a league title in 2024-25.
In June 2025, Arbeloa took over Real Madrid's reserve team — Real Madrid Castilla — and served as head coach for that side's first 19 matches of the current Primera Federación campaign. Castilla are currently fourth in Group A with a record of 10W-1D-8L.
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With no first-team experience, Arbeloa's hiring will surely raise eyebrows. Real Madrid's not a team known to take too many risks with their top job, with the likes of Carlo Ancelotti, Jose Mourinho, Rafael Benitez and Manuel Pellegrini among the most recent appointments in the head coaching position.
All had extensive experience elsewhere before stepping onto the sidelines at the Bernabeu, but there is recent precedent at the club for an untested hand taking over the reins, as the legendary Zinedine Zidane took a similar path to the top job as Arbeloa.
Zidane's only coaching experience after his glittering playing career was also at Real Madrid Castilla, and the French legend went on to lead the club to 11 trophies during his two stints in charge, including three Champions League titles and two La Liga crowns.
Real Madrid hope that Arbeloa will be able to hit the ground running just like Zidane did, but only time will tell whether the club's faith in their homegrown coach is well-founded.
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