SB Nation • 13 min read

Xabi Alonso: “Mbappé? It’s impossible for one player to play everything”

On Friday, Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso spoke to the media ahead of the La Liga fixture against Espanyol on Saturday afternoon. He was asked if Kylian Mbappé was the only “absolute starter” in his rotation policy, and the coach replied, “what do you mean by ‘absolute starter’? That he’ll always play as a starter? Well, there are a lot of games… and I’m sure there will be some where he won’t be a starter. Accept it as normal, because you have to know how to distribute the workload. It’s impossible

for one player to play everything… well, not impossible, it’s possible, but I don’t think we’re going to do it. Kylian is very important, but there will be days when he doesn’t start, too. We’ve played five games. I say this a lot: we want to draw conclusions for the whole season from these five games. And anyway… let’s wait a little longer to see how things go.”

Xabi Alonso on Espanyol

“Espanyol are in good form, but we’re also feeling positive; we want to prolong the ‘phase’ we’re in and continue to improve. Tomorrow will be a tough game. Espanyol are playing at a very good pace, with good intensity, they’re in good form… but we’re playing at home, we want to put in a good performance, because so far we’ve had good ‘phases’. And hopefully tomorrow we can do that with good football and win the game.”

Xabi Alonso on Huijsen’s suspension

“On the one hand, I’m not surprised. Obviously, I would have liked the decision to have been different, but it’s not going to be possible to have Dean for tomorrow. I would have liked to have him, after not being able to play with him for 60 minutes at Anoeta. If a mistake is accepted, it should have consequences, and it seems that this has not been the case. So… let’s leave it at that.”

Xabi Alonso on Vinícius Júnior

“I think he’s fine. Yesterday, obviously, after the other day, you could see that he was still a little bit… that it wasn’t the right time to talk to him. But today, on the other hand, he was in a better mood… with a better smile, more positive. We talked a little, not much, but after training I did something individual with him: some crosses, some finishes. He finished with good feelings and so did I. We’ll see tomorrow.”

Xabi Alonso on what Rodrygo brings to the team

“His quality, his ability to dribble past players, his ability to link up with others… but Vini has that too. They are two players who can make a difference. Both when they started and when they came on from the bench, they had a very good impact. It’s a position where we are very well covered.”

Xabi Alonso on getting Vinícius back to his best

“As I said before: yesterday I saw him… I didn’t think it was the right time to talk. You have to have a bit of intuition. And today we did talk a little bit. But today we finished training on a positive note, doing some individual work… but we’ve played five league games. There’s a long way to go, it’s a marathon until May. So… we have to take it very slowly with our assessments. We have to give everyone time: the team and the players individually.”

Xabi Alonso on whether it’s a focus issue for Vini

“For me, there are many important players in this squad. In terms of level, experience, track record, and what they’re going to give us. Vinicius is one of them, Kylian, Jude, Fede, Aurélien, Dean, Carva… I’m probably leaving out a few. I’m not getting into those labels we want to put on them right now. I value them all highly, I know the role they have to play, and I need to shape the team so that everyone feels important. We’re charting the course, there’s still a long way to go, but everyone’s on board and we need everyone to row, to row in the same direction.”

Xabi Alonso on Fede Valverde’s guarantee that he won’t play as a right-back

“Well… “never” and “guarantee” are complicated words in football. You can get your fingers burned. But the idea is that, if we have players, he plays in midfield, because that’s his position. Whether it’s as an eight, his position, or another. The other day he gave a lot to the team, just what it needed. Collectively, he was very generous and he is fundamental to our system because of what he gives us with and without the ball. Hopefully he won’t have to play much at right back, but ‘never’… you can never say never.“

Xabi Alonso on fitness updates

“Bellingham and Camavinga may get some minutes, we’ll have to see how the game unfolds, but I’d like them to. And Endrick… yes, he’ll be in the squad. There are five games, I think, until the next break and it’s good news that we have Edu and Jude; as well as Endrick, who has had less training, but is ready to be called up.”

Xabi Alonso on what he sees as “the complete game”

“In the last two games, we’ve played well in the first half, but the second half has been affected by cards. Both at Anoeta… and against Olympique de Marseille. The context takes you in another direction. But I aspire to have that feeling of control for longer ‘phases’. The feeling that we create little and they create little. That we work hard in games, we have stability in our play and that, too, will give us emotional stability so that we are not too… excited. Because you have to achieve the right level of activation. When you go overboard, you sometimes make the wrong decisions. You have to find the right balance, and if we can make the periods of control longer, everything will go our way.”

Xabi Alonso on Eduardo Camavinga’s best position

“As a midfielder. Obviously, he’s so versatile that he can play in many positions, like Valverde. But where I see him and where I’d like to play with him is in the center of the field, either as a six or an eight. He has many abilities, and now we have to integrate him into the collective quality we want to give the team, both with and without the ball.”

Xabi Alonso on insults to players and coaches

“In an ideal world, we wouldn’t have to suffer these situations. I… I’m not complaining, because I hardly ever suffer them, but there are teammates who do. Unfortunately, you have to learn to live with it because sometimes, if you don’t, it can take you out of your… situation, out of the game. I haven’t suffered too many incidents, but I see them on the pitch and, as I say, this got out of hand a long time ago.”

Xabi Alonso on Jose Mourinho joining Benfica

“I had the opportunity to face him when he was at Roma and I was at Leverkusen. We’ll see each other again in January. It will be special for everyone, but especially for him, as he had three very intense years here and was important in the process we were going through at the time. And he still has a lot of affection for the club, you can tell, he does. Although we’ll see how the two teams fare on the last day of the league phase!”