At the Allianz Arena, Los Blancos must overturn a 1-2 first-leg deficit. Arbeloa sees the task as entirely feasible. “If there’s one club that can win in Munich, it’s Real Madrid,” declared the embattled manager, who had recently replaced the sacked Xabi Alonso. He insisted that his side should have won the first leg at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu.
In his view, Los Blancos should already have wrapped up the tie at the Bernabéu: “We created plenty of chances and hardly let Bayern have any. Now we travel to Germany fully convinced we can win, and if needs be, we’ll give our all until the end.”
An early exit in the quarter-finals could indeed spell the end of Arbeloa’s tenure as Real coach. In LaLiga, the title race is virtually over with the team nine points behind FC Barcelona and just seven games remaining; in the Copa del Rey, the Royals were knocked out in their first match under Arbeloa’s leadership against second-tier side Albacete. The Supercopa final loss to Barça had already brought Alonso’s brief tenure to a close.
A last-eight exit would thus have far-reaching consequences not only for Arbeloa but also for the club’s broader structure. President Florentino Pérez’s long-held credo that Real can succeed without a sporting director may finally be discarded if the season ends trophy-less.
Spanish newspaper AS reports that Toni Kroos is set to be integrated into the club’s sporting structure from next summer, with the 36-year-old potentially taking on a role similar to that of a sporting director.