For the first time since his arrival on the Real Madrid bench a month ago, Xabi Alonso may have the opportunity to see the Vinicius-Mbappé pair evolve together on the occasion of the knockout stages of the Club World Cup. While the Frenchman was removed from the fields for more than two weeks due to gastroenteritis, he could find the competition this Tuesday evening against Juventus.
At the pre-match press conference, the former Bayer Leverkusen coach underlined his desire to improve the association between the two players. “Our idea is to exploit the idea of collective game. That the team trains as a team and that we work as a team. It is a balancingist work. I'm going to have trouble learning to dribble, but to create links, yes “, he said.
“The idea is to have this collective force to make Mbappé better play with Vinicius”he added. But the task is not easy for Spanish, who was warned by former German coach Jürgen Klinsmann. In an interview with Spanish media Marcathe ex-Mannschaft attacker is not optimistic.
Mbappé and Vinicius incorrigible?
While Xabi Alonso is trying to bring a new philosophy of play to Real Madrid, Jürgen Klinsmann fears that the Merengue coach cannot succeed in backing up Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Jr, who have often been criticized for their lack of defensive investment. “The teams with Messi are the only ones who can afford to defend only ten. Even Real Madrid tries to make Mbappé and Vinicius back down to defend. (…) If I am convinced that Xabi Alonso will succeed? No, honestly“He said.
Jürgen Klinsmann then did not show up towards the two players. During the interview, he indicates that this is not a sporting problem but rather behavioral: ” Mbappé is no longer a child. Vinicius sees that the others do not defend, so he does not do it either ”, he observed.
