The victory against Levante (2-0) has the taste of fragile relief, of a bandage placed on a gaping wound. After the humiliation in the Copa del Rey, Real Madrid had to react. He did it on the scoreboard, but not in hearts. The first period, poor, reignited the anger of a Santiago Bernabéu who whistled copiously at his players, particularly targeting a Vinicius Jr in full doubt. The fire was brought under control on the field, but another fire broke out in the press room.
Arbeloa chooses his players against the socios
Barely his first league match finished, Álvaro Arbeloa made a strong choice. Instead of calming things down, he decided to go to the front to defend his group, even if it meant facing his own audience. “I will always respect the Bernabéu a lot, I too have been whistled a lot,” he first conceded, before launching an uncompromising defense of his Brazilian attacker. “I will require my players to look for Vinicius. He has character, he defended this club body and soul. What he did here as a child, few have done. »
By affirming his desire to build his game around a player criticized a few minutes earlier, Arbeloa sends a message of absolute clarity. He even assumes that the whistles were also intended for him: “Those are whistles for me too. Now I have to earn their affection as a coach”. A way of uniting, of creating a sacred union in the locker room in the face of adversity which now comes from the stands.
A dangerous bet for a beginner
This communication strategy, if it is laudable in its intention to protect its players, is an extremely risky bet in an institution like Real Madrid. Directly confronting social workers, whose patience is running out, is a baptism of fire to say the least. The Bernabéu public is renowned for its demands, and seeing a novice coach justify the poor performance of his managers by defying their judgment could quickly turn against him.
Álvaro Arbeloa showed that he was straight in his boots and that he would not allow his choices to be dictated by popular pressure. He won his first match, but may have already lost a battle, that of public opinion. By choosing his side, he transformed his locker room into a fortress. It remains to be seen whether the walls will be strong enough to withstand the coming storm.
