1. FSV Mainz 05 v Bayer 04 Leverkusen - Bundesliga
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Quique Sánchez Flores, speaking on Cadena Ser’s El Larguero program, offered thoughtful insight into Real Madrid’s future under Xabi Alonso. He believes Alonso will energize a team that was exposed in the Champions League and domestically against Barcelona.
“He’s methodical. As a coach, he reminds me of who he was as a player,” Sánchez Flores said. “He’s serious, sees the game before it happens, and that’s an advantage. I think he’s going to shake up the squad.”
That shake-up, according to Sánchez Flores, won’t come immediately. The short runway before the Club World Cup offers limited time for a tactical overhaul. But the groundwork is already being laid.
More importantly, Alonso may benefit from a dynamic Ancelotti didn’t have last season: the scrutiny is now centered on the players rather than the manager. “The spotlight is more on the players than on Xabi, and I think that will help his ideas take root quickly and give him momentum,” Sánchez Flores noted.
Alonso, backed by a Leverkusen campaign built on discipline and clarity, may have the right environment to reinvigorate a squad that too often drifted last season.