Alvaro Arbeloa, Real Madrid’s new manager, said he will not dare to replicate Jose Mourinho’s style at the club, for it would certainly lead to a ‘spectacular’ failure. Arbeloa, 42, played under Jose Mourinho at Madrid and was said to be close to the Portuguese manager, which has led to early comparisons as the Madridistas try to figure out the coaching style and philosophy of their new, young face of the club.
Arbeloa was managing Madrid’s reserve team for the past few months. On Monday, the club hierarchy reached a ‘mutual agreement’ to part ways with Xabi Alonso and promoted Arbeloa.
“I have not spoken to Jose yet. For me, it was a privilege and an honour to be coached by Jose Mourinho,” Arbeloa told a news conference, as quoted by AFP. “I have a great
relationship with him… and obviously he was someone who influenced me a lot, I carry him within me. (However) I am going to be Alvaro Arbeloa, because while it’s true I am not afraid of failing, and have never been, I’m sure that if I tried to be Jose Mourinho, I would fail spectacularly.”
Arbeloa spent a huge share of his career playing with Alonso. They were together at Liverpool before transferring to Madrid in the same window in 2009, and won many trophies for Spain.
“Everyone here knows the bond that connects me to him, the friendship that connects me to him, how much I value him, how much I love him, and I know that’s mutual, has been mutual and will continue to be mutual,” said Arbeloaof Alonso.
The Spaniard knows what he’s getting himself into as the coach of a club that has probably the highest pressure to win trophies every year.
“This club is winning, winning, and winning again. That demand on ourselves, showing the DNA of what brought us here, that has filled our trophy cabinets (is what I want),” continued Arbeloa. “When I was a player I received those values from the players in the dressing room, and for me that is the most important thing… to be able to excite the fans we have all over the world and try to leave those cabinets even more full. That is my work, that is my obsession and what I will be living every day,” Arbeloa said.
