Alvaro Arbeloa reflects on his time as Real Madrid manager: ‘I will always be grateful’

Alvaro Arbeloa reflects on his time as Real Madrid manager: ‘I will always be grateful’ Former Real Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa is the subject of the first episode of the new season of Premier Corner by Guinness 0.0 on DAZN. The Fulham coach discussed his move into English football and, above all, reaffirmed his enduring connection with Real Madrid, a bond that his move to London has only strengthened. Despite the distance from the Spanish capital, Arbeloa made it clear that his heart remains at the Santiago Bernabeu. Looking back on his spell as Real Madrid’s first-team coach, Arbeloa didn’t shy away from self-criticism, but spoke with gratitude about the experience. “Coaching Madrid was a huge learning experience and a great experience. I wish it had gone better, for the club and the supporters, but things happened the way they happened,” he admitted, as quoted by MARCA . He then made clear that any assessment of that period comes second to his identity as a lifelong Madridista . Arbeloa spent half a season as Real Madrid manager. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images) “I will always be grateful to Madrid. I’m a Madridista and I always will be. Even more so now that I also have a friend in the dugout managing the team.” That attachment goes far beyond his most recent spell as a coach. “Madrid is the club of my life. I’ll watch all their matches. I’m here thanks to Madrid. I’ve been involved with this club for more than 20 years, and it’s something I’ll always carry inside me,” said Arbeloa, underlining how deeply Real Madrid remains embedded in him. Gonzalo and Palacios fit his vision Arbeloa also discussed the type of player he wants to build his project around at Craven Cottage, and two familiar names immediately came to mind. “I like players who want to learn, work and demand a lot of themselves,” he explained. That profile perfectly describes Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacios, the two Real Madrid academy graduates Arbeloa brought to Fulham this summer. On a new journey at Fulham. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images) “They’re two players with immense talent who share that personality, self-demand and ambition that I want in young players like them,” he said. A new life in London Away from Madrid, Arbeloa also reflected on his new life in the Premier League, which he described as the most competitive and most followed league in the world. What attracted him to Fulham, he explained, was the project and the ambition communicated by the club’s owners. The idea is to build a young, hungry team capable of competing with an aggressive identity. Arbeloa wants his side to be particularly intense without the ball, brave when pressing and willing to accept the risks that come with such an approach. His first Premier League fixture already brought him up against Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea, with the Basque coach coming out on top.