Real Madrid have wasted no time in moving forward following the departure of Xabi Alonso, with the first change arriving in the Álvaro Arbeloa era. “Los Blancos” have long been facing serious issues regarding players’ physical condition, and the first move under Arbeloa’s leadership is directly related to this problem.
One of the club’s ongoing concerns was the number of injuries during Alonso’s tenure, which often disrupted his plans due to physical setbacks. Dean Huijsen, Dani Carvajal, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Éder Militão have missed many matches because of injuries, while Alonso frequently cited this as one of the main reasons that prevented the team from achieving its objectives on the pitch.
According to Diario AS, Real Madrid are set to bring back former fitness coach Antonio Pintus to take charge of the first team’s physical preparation.
The highly regarded Italian coach, greatly valued by Florentino Pérez, returned for a second spell in 2021 to work with Carlo Ancelotti, but this summer he moved into a less active role as “Head of Performance.” Alonso had insisted on bringing in his own fitness coaches, Alberto Encinas and Ismael Camenforte, who arrived with him from Bayer Leverkusen, but this has not delivered the desired results.
