aLubalo Arbeloa is running out of time to save his season. Having been eliminated by Albacete in the Copa del Rey and in an almost chimerical position in La Liga, the manager will be playing this season, and perhaps even longer, in the Champions League, an area in which Real Madrid would find an argument even if everything else went wrong.
The defeat against Son Moi (2-1) resulted in poor performance and poor news, leaving the team seven points behind Barcelona with eight games remaining. Distance that does not seek consistency but brings about a turnaround in fortunes. The focus therefore naturally shifts to the next test and the real referee of the season: Bayern Munich.
The path is clear and steep
Arbeloa will need five top-flight games if he wants to remain on Real Madrid’s bench. Two games against Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals, two more in the semi-finals potentially against PSG or Liverpool, and the final in Budapest sound far away today, but it’s the one goal that makes up for the effort. In La Liga, they have no choice but to cling on to a shot at the Camp Nou and hope that their lead collapses. What we saw in Mallorca doesn’t make us think about that.
Numbers don’t help either. Comparisons with Xabi Alonso, who replaced Arbeloa on the bench, are unfavorable. Real Madrid’s current manager has managed fewer games (18 compared to Alonso’s 28) and has already matched his number of defeats with five (to Albacete, Benfica, Osasuna, Getafe and Mallorca). For Real Madrid, this statistic carries weight.
After the setback against Getafe (0-1), there was a false dawn. The elimination of Manchester City in the Champions League and the victories over Celta, Elche and Atlético Madrid showed that the team is self-explanatory, with five wins in a row and a clear idea. But with just a few tweaks, the mechanism wobbled.
The functioning block of Valverde, Pitalci, Choameni, Guler, Brahim and Vinicius was changed in Mallorca. The suspension of Valverde, the rest of Vinicius and Pitarci, the return of Camavinga and the bet on young Manuel Ángel changed the balance.
And the only argument in the first half when Real Madrid were little more than strikers came Mbappé, back from a knee injury, who was stopped by Leo Roman. Furthermore, at 1-0, a non-existent retreat left Camavinga in the dust. The rest simply did not appear.
There was no reaction even to change. There was no response in the second half, and the only bright spot was Militao, who returned for the first time in 24 games and showed off his class with a header. The Brazilian’s form leaves him with an owner at the heart of defence, and Arbeloa will have to decide whether to give up his spot to Rudiger or Rafael Obrador.
On the other hand, time does not stand still. Arbeloa has just 48 hours to get back into shape before Bayern. In that time frame, more than results matter. Before the game in Mallorca, Arbeloa spoke about his future with a calmness that contrasted with the noise around him.
“I’m not worried at all. As I’ve said many times, I’ll be here until the day the club wants me to. I’m very happy and my only goal is to help the players win titles. That’s what I want, if Real Madrid can win the title. I want to help and do what I can. But the important thing is that Real Madrid wins, and that’s my only goal.
And therein lies the problem, like the old unwritten rules of the Bernabéu. The manager lives for results and explains himself in Europe. Arbeloa still has its doors open. It’s not a small thing, but it also doesn’t leave much leeway. At the end of the day, in Madrid it’s all about winning and meeting deadlines. Next destination is Bayern Munich.
