Xabi Alonso was due to talk to the media on Tuesday evening at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, but at the scheduled press conference time of 7:30pm ET, the team were still up in the air.
Storms in the New Jersey area prevented the team’s flight from landing for two hours from their scheduled arrival time, with El Chiringuito even claiming that FIFA had to intervene to ensure that the team’s plane could land at LaGuardia Airport in New York.
Bad weather conditions over Palm Beach prevented Real Madrid from taking off for an hour after their scheduled departure time, and they were then left circling Virginia for two hours before they could eventually land in New York.
Journalists, including Kiyan Sobhani of Managing Madrid, were informed shortly after the scheduled press conference time that the mixed zone and press conference were both cancelled as the media team waited for the squad to arrive.
Xabi Alonso had been scheduled to speak ahead of the game against Paris Saint-Germain, alongside a mixed zone including Thibaut Courtois, Fede Valverde and Jacobo Ramón. Instead, the team headed straight to the Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown upon arrival at LaGuardia, where they will now be based.
PSG not affected
On the opposite side of Wednesday’s fixture, PSG coach Luis Enrique was able to address the media as planned, as his team has been based in New York for the past several days.
After starting their campaign on the west coast, with games at the Rose Bowl in California and in Seattle, they then played their two previous knock-out round fixtures in Atlanta, Georgia, before setting up camp in New York.
The French team trained in New York on Tuesday before Luis Enrique spoke to the media as scheduled in the evening. Their decision to move base early looks to have paid off, while Real Madrid opted to remain at their Miami camp, which they have been located at since the start of the tournament, until completing training on Tuesday.
Planning for a possible final
Real Madrid need not be concerned about a repeat ahead of a possible final should they overcome Paris Saint-Germain, as the team will now remain in New York until the end of the tournament. Should they beat their French rivals, the team will remain in New York.
The final would take place on Sunday, July 13th, with a 3pm ET (9pm CEST) kick-off against Premier League side Chelsea, also being held in New Jersey at the MetLife Stadium.