Barcelona nuances in Real Madrid's new face with Xabi Alonso

MADRID, TUESDAY — The main candidate for the new coach of Real Madrid, Xabi Alonso, will break the boundaries of rivalry between "Los Blancos" and Barcelona. He brings along three of his assistants from Bayer Leverkusen, two of whom previously served as coaching staff for the youth team at Barca.

According to Marca, Alonso, who will start work at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on June 1, 2025, comes with three assistants. They are Sebastian Parrilla, Alberto Encinas, and Ismael Camenforte Lopez.

Parilla is Alonso's right-hand man. They have known each other since Alonso played for Real Madrid from 2009 to 2014.

Alonso began inviting Parrilla for a technical position when handling Real Sociedad B from 2019 to 2022. When Alonso was contracted by Leverkusen in October 2022, Parrilla was the person Alonso trusted to replace him on the sidelines while serving a ban from accompanying his team.

Encinas and Lopez are figures with a strong background with Barca. Although they arrived in Madrid with experience assisting Alonso in delivering three trophies for Leverkusen, both began their coaching careers at La Masia, the academy owned by Barca.

Encinas, who serves as an assistant coach at Leverkusen equivalent to Parrilla, has been in Leverkusen for a longer period. Encinas' work history in football coaching includes serving as an assistant coach for Barcelona B from 2018 to 2021. During that time, Encinas assisted Garcia Pimienta.

As is known, Pimienta was recorded as the coach of Sevilla from June 2024 to April 2025. During his time at Barca B, Encinas secured the UEFA Youth League title for the 2017-2018 season.

The tactical understanding possessed by Parrilla and Encinas greatly assisted Alonso during his time at Leverkusen. Parrilla and Encinas also helped Alonso observe the young players from the Leverkusen Academy.

Lopez is the head of Leverkusen's physical training methodology. He began his coaching career as Barca B's physical trainer in 2007.

Before joining Leverkusen at the beginning of the 2021-2022 season, Lopez worked closely with Domenec Torrent, who is known as one of Pep Guardiola's best assistants. Torrent assisted Guardiola at Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City until 2018.

When Torrent managed New York City, the team under the control of City Group, during the period of 2018-2019, Lopez was recorded as the physical coach. After that, Lopez served in the Danish national team for two years.

Undoubtedly, Encinas and Lopez are two former coaching staff of Leverkusen, Gerardo Seoane, who were retained by Alonso. Their expertise is expected to be utilized by Alonso to revive Real Madrid, which has been without a title in the 2024-2025 season.

"Alonso is certain to bring his three assistants at Bayer Leverkusen who have helped him create historic achievements in Germany," wrote Marca in Tuesday's edition (13/5/2025).

Alonso will begin his duties in the technical line of Real during the Club World Cup held in the United States from June 14 to July 13, 2025. Los Blancos are placed in Group H alongside Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia), Pachuca (Mexico), and Red Bull Salzburg (Austria).

The first match of Real in the tournament will face Al-Hilal on June 18 at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami. Like Real, Al-Hilal is one of the most successful teams in the Asian Champions League.

In preparation for the Club World Cup, Alonso is reported to be prioritizing the improvement of Real's defense line. After counting down the days to secure Trent Alexander-Arnold, the right-back from Liverpool, Alonso also requires at least one center-back and a left-back.

Alexander-Arnold is urgently needed by Alonso to strengthen the weak right defense sector due to the declining performance of Lucas Vazquez and the recurring injury of Dani Carvajal. In central defense, Real has lost many players due to injuries, such as Antonio Ruediger, Eder Militao, and David Alaba.

In addition, Alonso also needs reinforcement at left wing-back due to Ferland Mendy's injury and Fran Garcia's continued inconsistency.

"The new manager (Alonso) will have an extra defender. Real are also looking at the left wing-back option. The club decided to be active in the transfer market due to the storm of injuries with a month to go until the Club World Cup," said Fabrizio Romano, a transfer expert, as reported by The Guardian.

Unlike the defensive line, Alonso is quite comfortable with the stock of midfield and forward players at Real. Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni, Arda Guler, Dani Ceballos, Luka Modric, Jude Bellingham, and Brahim Diaz form a midfield lineup that still qualifies Los Blancos as a team with one of the best midfield compositions in the world.

In the front line, the prominent names of Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior will be indispensable assets for Alonso. Rodrygo and Endrick can also be developed by Alonso to elevate their performance levels.

One thing Alonso needs is a pure number nine player, like Patrik Schick at Leverkusen, who can serve as an alternative goal source in the closing stages of the second half.

When Real began a new era with Alonso by bringing in two former coaches of the Barca youth team, the "Blaugrana" ensured the extension of Hans-Dieter Flick's contract. Barca President Joan Laporta and Technical Director Deco are pleased with Flick's performance.

As a result, Flick has agreed to extend his tenure at Barca. The German tactician will sign a new contract at the end of this season until June 30, 2027.