Juanma Rodríguez says what many think about Xabi Alonso: 'he's starting to look like...'

It's clear that Xabi Alonso  is going through  his most difficult moment since he arrived on Real Madrid's bench more than four months ago. Although his first appearances ended with good results and even better feelings, little by little he has lost his way. Los Blancos haven't managed to win any of the last three matches, and criticism is already starting to appear strongly.

In fact, last night against Elche, Real Madrid's image was much more dramatic than expected. Xabi Alonso's team were outmatched in intensity, in quality, and, most worryingly, in personality. For a coach like the man from Tolosa, who arrived as a tactical guru, that lack of collective character is a very serious warning.

Xabi Alonso tried to shake things up at the Martínez Valero with significant changes in the starting eleven. Vinícius was on the bench, Rodrygo took his place on the left, and the defensive structure was reorganized to play with three center-backs. However, nothing changed: Real Madrid once again gave off that soulless team feeling that does so much damage to the project's credibility.

Juanma Rodríguez points to Xabi Alonso

In this context, Juanma Rodríguez emerged, who didn't want to remain silent after Real Madrid's draw. The journalist, a regular voice of the most demanding Madridist sector, spoke about everything, but focused his speech on Xabi Alonso. What he said is not to be missed, because he verbalizes a feeling that is starting to take hold among a large part of the fanbase.

In almost four minutes of intervention, Juanma Rodríguez pointed directly at the man from Tolosa. "The play isn't improving. Today, Xabi Alonso's greatest tactical advance was seeing Fran García as a winger, which is the last thing I expected to see at Real Madrid", he began by saying.

"I see that Xabi Alonso doesn't believe it, and he's starting to look like Rafa Benítez, which I find very dangerous. I don't know what he wants to do, Real Madrid isn't Leverkusen. I don't see progress, everything is very flat, very soft in defense; the idea he brought from Germany can't be imposed", Juanma Rodríguez concluded.

Beyond the tone used by Juanma Rodríguez, the underlying message is football-related and recognizable to any Madridist fan. Xabi Alonso's Real Madrid wants to be vertical, incisive, and apply coordinated high pressing, but ends up in a middle ground where they don't master any of the styles. They're not devastating in open space, nor do they dominate the opponent through possession and structure.

Xabi Alonso needs to react now

In Germany, Xabi Alonso achieved an extremely well-drilled Leverkusen, with clear automatisms, rational occupation of space, and very aggressive pressing after losing the ball. At Bernabéu, for now, that playbook hasn't translated to the context of a locker room full of stars, hierarchies, and established roles. That's where many see the danger that he's starting to look like Rafa Benítez.

Not so much because of the coach's quality, which is indisputable, but because of the feeling that Xabi Alonso's message isn't getting through to the players. When results falter and the play doesn't engage, Bernabéu becomes an especially hostile place for any coach, no matter how much of a legend he was as a footballer.

For now, Xabi Alonso has room, institutional support, and tactical talent to turn the situation around. But at Real Madrid, time always moves faster than at any other club in the world. If he doesn't manage to give the team a recognizable identity and immediate results, speeches like Juanma Rodríguez's will stop being an isolated opinion and become the dominant narrative.