{"id":39921,"date":"2025-07-05T04:59:15","date_gmt":"2025-07-05T04:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/39921\/"},"modified":"2025-07-05T04:59:15","modified_gmt":"2025-07-05T04:59:15","slug":"xabi-alonso-mbappe-and-gonzalo-could-play-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/39921\/","title":{"rendered":"Xabi Alonso: \u201cMbapp\u00e9 and Gonzalo could play together\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Real Madrid<\/a> coach Xabi Alonso spoke to the media in New York ahead of the team\u2019s FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund<\/a> and addressed a number of topics, including who could start in attack with Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 being back fit to rival surprise package Gonzalo Garc\u00eda. He said, \u201cthey could play together, it depends on the moment and the needs, they complement each other. If the context calls for it, I haven\u2019t ruled it out at all\u201d.<\/p>\n

Xabi Alonso on Diogo Jota<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cBefore answering your question, I would like to send my deepest condolences to the families of Diogo and Andre Silva. This is very sad news for everyone, and we started the day with a feeling that makes you reflect. Now, with regard to the match, we are fine. We want to keep moving forward, and the next step is Dortmund, who are one of Europe\u2019s top teams. It\u2019s going to be an intense match, and we need to perform at a high level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Xabi Alonso on whether Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 could start<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s feeling better and has been able to train well for the last three days. We\u2019ll decide tomorrow morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Xabi Alonso on whether he would \u201cbet his coaching licence\u201d like Ancelotti<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Ancelotti said that, he had already achieved so much in his career that he could afford to! I\u2019m just starting out, I can\u2019t take such a risk. But I can say that Fede Valverde is going to score a lot of goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Xabi Alonso on playing with a back three<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cTime is becoming more limited. I think Tchouam\u00e9ni can be hybrid, in one phase in one way and in another phase in another way, that richness gives us more alternatives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Xabi Alonso on Aur\u00e9lien Tchouameni\u2019s role<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI had seen him a lot, but in the end you have to get to know him. He has the ability to adapt, he\u2019s very intelligent when it comes to grasping concepts. His position is very important to me, to be strong in the middle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Xabi Alonso on forward options<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m counting on all three. Endrick is recovering, but of course we\u2019re counting on him. We\u2019re not planning the squad, we\u2019re looking for immediate results. We\u2019ll make decisions afterwards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Xabi Alonso on whether football needs time-outs<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if I would be for or against the presence of elements that disrupt the game… it would have to be considered. I\u2019m not saying no, but under normal conditions I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s the best thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Xabi Alonso on players returning from injury<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe squad list will be the same. Camavinga is better, but it\u2019s too early for tomorrow. Militao and Carvajal are back in training.\u201d<\/p>\n

Xabi Alonso on pre-season<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the Club World Cup, we\u2019ll all need rest and get back to training in Valdebebas. We won\u2019t be doing any training camps abroad. It will be on a reduced schedule, and decisions have already been made with the players.\u201d<\/p>\n

Xabi Alonso on Rodrygo Goes<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI spoke to Rodrygo yesterday, and he\u2019s in a positive frame of mind, eager, and ready for whenever he\u2019s needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Xabi Alonso on Fede Valverde\u2019s fitness<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cFede had a minor discomfort but has recovered well for tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso spoke to the media in New York ahead of the team\u2019s FIFA Club…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":39922,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[15448,931,7631,204,31819,5036,5035,31818,5039,221,62,31820,67,132,68,15447],"class_list":{"0":"post-39921","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer","8":"tag-alonso","9":"tag-and","10":"tag-could","11":"tag-front-page","12":"tag-gonzalo","13":"tag-madrid","14":"tag-managing","15":"tag-mbapp","16":"tag-play","17":"tag-soccer","18":"tag-sports","19":"tag-together","20":"tag-united-states","21":"tag-unitedstates","22":"tag-us","23":"tag-xabi"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114798864977420797","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39921\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}