Poor planning hindered Alonso at Real Madrid, says former president Calderon

Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon says he was surprised by Xabi Alonso’s dismissal, admitting a lack of planning hindered his time at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Los Blancos announced on Monday that they had dismissed Alonso from his position as head coach following their 3-2 Supercopa de Espana loss to Barcelona on Sunday.

The Spaniard’s tenure lasted just seven months, though his position had reportedly been under threat for a number of months due to poor results and suggestions of disagreements with players.

Alonso had been touted as Madrid’s next long-term boss after he replaced Carlo Ancelotti ahead of the Club World Cup, but his time in the dugout lasted just 34 games.

And Calderon, who served as Madrid’s president between July 2006 and January 2009, says the exits of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric in the last two seasons made things difficult for the Spanish giants as they failed to bring in ready replacements.

“Firstly, I think it has been a surprise,” Calderon told Stats Perform.

“Indeed, a rumour about the possibility of him being dismissed, but yesterday’s game [the Supercopa loss] demonstrated that the team were not on the wrong path; they could perfectly have drawn or even won.

“The image was not bad, but it was indeed a painful defeat. Against Barcelona is always like that, but in the end, the president’s [Florentino Perez] decision has been to sack him.

“This is a presidentialist club; there is no sports director, and there is no proper sportive assessment, football-wise, so the president does and undoes.

“From my point of view, the planning was not the most adequate because the midfield has been harmed following Luka Modric and Toni Kroos’ absences.”

Alonso won 24 of his matches in charge of Madrid (D4 L6), boasting a 70.6% win rate.

Overall, of the permanent coaches to take charge of Madrid, Alonso has the fifth-best win rate, after Manuel Pellegrini (75%), Ancelotti (74.8%), Radomir Antic (72.2%) and Jose Mourinho (71.9%).

However, as well as the Supercopa loss, Madrid were knocked out of the Club World Cup in the semi-finals, and sit second in LaLiga, four points behind Barcelona.

Asked how he would have approached making the decision over Alonso’s future, Calderon explained that he would have deferred to those around him with a more footballing background.

“I would have asked the sporting director, in my case, Pedja Mijatovic, and his team were the ones who made the sporting decisions, because they were the ones who knew,” he said.

“I have always said that the fan who knows the most knows less than the professional who knows the least.

“Ultimately, the professionals are the ones who have to make the decisions; they know the weaknesses and strengths of the squads, the characteristics of the coaches, and I would have asked him, and he would have made the decision.”

Official Announcement: Álvaro Arbeloa.

— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden) January 12, 2026

Alonso’s former team-mate Alvaro Arbeloa, who was the head of Madrid’s Castilla, has been named as the new head coach.

“I’m not in a position to say,” Calderon said when asked who he would have picked as a replacement.

“But when I signed Mijatovic, he told me that [Fabio] Capello was the manager. When Capello didn’t manage the team well, even though he won a league title, he told me that [Bernd] Schuster was the answer, and that’s what we did.

“I don’t have the expertise. There are very good and very important coaches in the world of football, but most of them are not available, and that is a decision that the president will have to make again.

“Until now, he has made decisions, as I said, based on his own criteria, without taking advice from anyone, and it hasn’t gone badly for him; the results are there. So, we’ll just have to wait and see if he gets it right again.”