The whole debate around Xabi Alonso feels slightly skewed. For me, the issue at a club like Real Madrid isn’t his ability at all, it is whether his personality and approach really fit a dressing room that is absolutely packed with egos and player power.
At Madrid, the dynamic is different. The players run a lot of the show, the politics are intense and the spotlight is constant. A hands-on, very detailed coach like Xabi can be a brilliant tactician, but not necessarily the ideal manager of huge personalities who are used to calling the shots.
Real Madrid, egos and the man‑manager type
Real is full of big characters. In that kind of environment, managers who lean heavily into their tactical blueprint or try too hard to impose their style often struggle. You can see the pattern over the years: the ones who thrive there tend to be elite man-managers first, system coaches second.
That is why the comparison of someone like Benitez versus Zidane always gets mentioned. The more measured, people-first approach tends to calm the dressing room and get the best out of the stars. That doesn’t mean a coach like Xabi is lacking. It just means his skill set might be better suited to a club where the structure and culture give him more control and patience.
Liverpool under Slot and a team without a clear identity
When you look at Liverpool right now, the contrast is interesting. We feel like a side that has lost its identity a bit. Slot has stuck with pretty much the same structure and approach all season, yet the performances have been full of inconsistency and imbalance.
He has been slow to make changes, and there is a sense he has not always read the game state or the squad’s strengths quickly enough. It took months to move towards a shape a lot of fans had been asking for since August. That is where it starts to grate: when a system seems to hold back a talented group rather than unlock it.
The players clearly have quality, but you do not always feel the system is maximising them. That is where a more adaptable, reactive coach becomes really appealing.
Why Xabi’s adaptability feels made for Anfield
Xabi is still a young manager, and of course he wants to put his stamp on things and define his philosophy. At a place like Madrid, that can clash with established egos. At Liverpool, given where we are, that kind of clarity and tactical edge could be exactly what is needed.
His biggest strength, from the outside, looks like his intelligence and his willingness to adjust shape, roles and approach to suit his players. For a squad rich in talent but currently constrained by a system that does not always feel tailored to them, that profile is very attractive.
People say Xabi lacks experience at the very top level, but if we are honest, Slot arrived without real experience of leading a global giant either. Feyenoord are a massive club with a proud history in the Netherlands and respected in Europe, but Liverpool are on a different scale altogether, a global institution with all the pressure that brings.
When you put it like that, the gap in experience between the two is not as big a stick to beat Xabi with as some make out. And if you look at what he achieved with Leverkusen compared to what Slot did with Feyenoord, you can easily argue Xabi’s work stacks up as even more impressive in context.
So the question for Liverpool is simple: do we want a coach who sticks stubbornly to one structure, or one who is tactically adaptable enough to shape things around a very good squad? For me, that is where Xabi starts to look like the better fit for where we are right now.
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