The statistics do not reflect well on Arbeloa’s tenure with the first team, as the defeat to Mallorca was his fifth in 18 matches, compared to 13 wins. By contrast, Xabi Alonso also lost five matches, but those came in 28 games in which he recorded 20 wins and three draws.
With this poor record, Arbeloa has entered the club’s history books as one of the managers with the most defeats at the start of their tenure, with Koping and Moloni topping the list with eight defeats, followed by Del Bosque with seven, and then six defeats each for Albinés, Scaroni, Hiddink, Amancio and Arsenio, while Arbeloa is tied with Kinké and Ibina on 5 defeats.
The statistics highlight another factor: the limited impact of Arbeloa’s in-game decisions on results, particularly when the team is trailing. Under his leadership, Real Madrid managed to turn the game around in just two of the seven matches they started losing: against Benfica (2–1) and Atlético Madrid (3–2), whilst they lost the other five in which they conceded the first goal: against Albaseti 3-2, Benfica 4-2, Osasuna 2-1, Getafe 0-1 and Mallorca 2-1.
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