Niko Kovac's Spying, Xabi Alonso's Big Threat

NEW JERSEY, FRIDAY — Xabi Alonso continues to maintain an unbeaten record since taking charge of Real Madrid last month. This record is at risk of being tarnished as Real faces Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup.

Dortmund coach Niko Kovac has long been monitoring Alonso's strategies while he was still managing Bayer Leverkusen. This information will be utilized by Kovac to secure the first defeat for Alonso with Real.

As of now, Kovac and Alonso have met five times. All encounters took place in the Bundesliga, resulting in Alonso's advantage with two victories and one defeat. The other two matches ended in a draw.

Nevertheless, Kovac seems to be starting to understand Alonso's tactical character. The proof is in their most recent meeting last May, where Kovac successfully defeated Leverkusen with a convincing score of 4-2.

Thus, the meeting in the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup at Metlife Stadium, New Jersey, United States, on Sunday (6/7/2025) at 03:00 WIB, will be the sixth for Kovac and Alonso.

Kovac is quite optimistic about being able to replicate his victory over Alonso. Moreover, Kovac has long been gathering information about Alonso's playing strategies during his career in the Bundesliga.

"We know him (Xabi Alonso) very well. He worked for two and a half years in Germany, and he did a fantastic job. Now he is applying everything he learned at Bayer Leverkusen to Real Madrid. So we expect the same as what we faced before at Leverkusen, only with different players," said Kovac ahead of the match, Friday (4/7/2026).

"They play with a very vertical and fast style. Essentially, we see a similar style of football to that played by Xabi at Leverkusen," he continued.

As Kovac mentioned, Alonso indeed applies a similar system as when he managed Leverkusen. He transformed Real, which typically played with a four-defender formation during Carlo Ancelotti's era, into a three-defender setup. Like other Bundesliga teams, the core of Alonso's tactics is to press the opponent with a high defensive line and rely on team collectivism.

When eliminating Juventus in the round of 16, Leverkusen's distinctive style of play was clearly evident in Real. The three-man backline system was supported by Aurelien Tchouameni and Dean Huijsen, who excelled at distributing the ball from the back.

Meanwhile, Fran Garcia and Trent Alexander-Arnold maneuvered along the flanks. The two wingbacks were instructed to advance quite far to support the attack.

That way, Real will form a 3-2-5 formation when attacking. Garcia and Trent moving far forward make it seem like Real has five attackers. The presence of Garcia and Trent on the wings is useful as a bait option in a switch play situation or changing the direction of attack because Juventus is stacking defenders in the middle area.

The winning goal for Real, scored by Gonzalo Garcia, originated from an attacking effort on the right flank led by Trent. Playing wide while also instructing many players to move forward to gain numerical superiority was key for Real in defeating Juventus.

Alonso's style is familiar to Kovac. He has prepared an antithesis to Alonso's aggressive playing tactics.

"We are very much looking forward to it (the match). But you have to play football for 90 minutes, and if we give our all on the field, I think we will have a good chance," said Kovac.

If he succeeds in overcoming Alonso's strategy, Kovac will further improve their head-to-head record. In addition to the personal meeting record, Real also holds a significant advantage over Dortmund.

"Los Blancos" have won four consecutive matches against Dortmund. Dortmund's last victory over Real occurred in 2014 when they were still managed by Juergen Klopp.

Despite having a better meeting record, Alonso still feels that Dortmund could pose a challenge for Real. Moreover, Dortmund has shown positive development since dismissing Nuri Sahin and appointing Kovac as his replacement. Under the guidance of the Croatian coach, Dortmund has remained unbeaten in their last 11 matches.

As the wise say, there is always a first time for everything. Alonso is also maintaining a high level of vigilance to avoid becoming complacent with the meeting records, thus steering clear of suffering his first defeat as the coach of Real.

"We must work hard. This match will be difficult. However, we will act professionally and perform very well," said Alonso, as quoted from the Real website.

Difficult decisions must be made by Alonso regarding player selection in the forward line. With the return of last season's La Liga top scorer, Kylian Mbappe, from gastroenteritis, Alonso is faced with a significant dilemma.

Of the three forwards, namely Mbappe, Garcia, and Vinicius, he must sacrifice one of them. It is interesting to see how Alonso concocts the lineup with the abundance of options in the front line. (REUTERS)