Madrid, Jan 15 (.) Real Madrid’s shock exit to second-division Albacete in the round of 16 of
the Copa del Rey has captured the headlines in the Spanish press, with new coach Alvaro Arbeloa immediately in the spotlight.
Arbeloa was promoted from the Real Madrid B-team to replace Xabi Alonso in the wake of Sunday’s Spanish Super Cup defeat to FC Barcelona, but could hardly have had a worse start
as a 94th-minute goal condemned his side to an early exit.
Pro-Real Madrid newspaper Marca describes the result as a “total debacle,” adding, “Arbeloa debuts with a total disaster and Real Madrid loses two titles in three days.”
Diario AS strongly criticizes Arbeloa for leaving star players Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe and Rodrygo back in Madrid while starting with two B-team players in his side.
Arbeloa defended himself over that accusation after the match, saying he was “convinced the squad was the right one.”
“I have no regrets; I would do the same thing again. I have a fantastic squad; it’s a privilege to coach them. I’m convinced the squad selection was the right one, and I would do it again a thousand times over,” insisted the new coach.
“The players we had were a great team. I have a great squad, full of talented, game-changing players,” he said, adding that he needed more time to work with the squad.
“With just one day under a new coach, it’s difficult to do everything I’ve asked of them,” commented Arbeloa, who also argued that many of his players needed to “get back to their peak fitness.”
Arbeloa insisted he was not afraid of failure as “failure is part of the path to success.”
“It will make me improve. It will make us all improve,” he said.
./XINHUA .