Arbeloa breaks with Xabi Alonso and Mourinho's method

Alvaro Arbeloa has decided to modify Real Madrid's European preparation. The coach is introducing a twist to what Xabi Alonso and, in his day, Jose Mourinho had done. The Spaniard will work directly in the rival country in the Champions League matches, a relevant variation in the logistics of the team.

The debut of this formula will be immediate. Next week, Madrid will fly to Lisbon on Tuesday morning and complete their final session in the afternoon at the Estadio da Luz, before facing the team led by Mourinho on Wednesday. It is a plan that moves the center of operations away from Valdebebas on the eve of the continental competition.

Until now, Xabi Alonso, who brought this trend back to Europe, had preferred to leave the pre-training at home and travel afterwards, limiting the presence in the rival stadium to the protocol commitments. This is a way of preparing for matches that Arbeloa has decided to review.

Xabi justified this choice with a phrase that summed up that philosophy: "It's my decision because we have to prepare for the game and we prefer to do it in our Ciudad Deportiva, in our space, so that we are not caught by 200 cameras". Arbeloa opts for a different path without possible 'spies'.