Real Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa has characterised their dressing room as ‘healthy’, in spite of the conflict between Fede Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni this week. He also went on to praise the club’s handling of the incident, after both players were handed €500k fines.
In the first public address of the matter, Arbeloa began with a lengthy diatribe, that invoked Real Madrid legend Juanito, and asked for Tchouameni and Fede Valverde to be given a chance to move on from the incident. He also confirmed that Tchouameni would be in the squad to face Barcelona, and confirmed he was happy with Valverde in his role as a vice-captain.
“I want to say two things. First, I’m very proud of the decisiveness, speed, and transparency with which the club has acted. And second, that the players have acknowledged their mistake, expressed their regret, and asked for forgiveness. That’s enough for me. What I’m not going to do is publicly crucify them, because they don’t deserve it. They’ve shown me what it means to be a Real Madrid player these past four months and years. They’ve demonstrated that they know what it means to be a Real Madrid player, and I won’t forget that.”
“I always give an example. For me, there’s a player who is the epitome of what a Real Madrid player should be, and that’s Juanito. And he never made a mistake? We’re all very proud of what he did in every match. He understood what Real Madrid is all about; he gave his all. How could I not make mistakes? We all make mistakes. But if there’s one thing we love him for, it’s because he made mistakes, just like anyone can.”
“These two players deserve for us to move on, to give them a chance to keep fighting for this club. I’m very proud of them. I won’t allow this to be used to question their professionalism: it’s a lie that they aren’t professional, that they aren’t playing because of problems with me, and that they’ve disrespected me… it’s absolutely false. I’m the one ultimately responsible for the fact that we probably haven’t been up to par this season. But I’ve been here for four months and I’m very proud of my players. Of how they welcomed me, and of where we came from. It’s clear that frustration and anger can lead you to situations you don’t want. Now we have to focus on the game. That’s what we need to concentrate on now.”
Arbeloa was willing to be the fall guy for the chaos inside the dressing room, with the qualifier of ‘if the coach should have stopped it’. One of the main discussions in recent months has been a lack of leaders in the Real Madrd team.
“If you want to point the finger at someone, here I am,” later adding that, “My office isn’t inside the dressing room, and I wish it were so I could keep an eye on everything. If the coach should have stopped this, I take responsibility. The players know they made a mistake, and this should serve as an example for everyone. We have to keep going.”
Arbeloa rejected the idea that Real Madrid players have ‘too much power’, with plenty of reporting that Xabi Alonso’s exit earlier in the season was in no small part down to his failure to connect with some of his starts.
“I don’t know what he’s referring to. I’m telling you, when a Real Madrid player doesn’t play, it’s a sporting decision. I choose the one I believe deserves it. The fans can rest assured with this dressing room and these players. We went 30 years without winning the European Cup. I arrived here and we went five years without getting past the round of 16. These are difficult situations, and there’s no one better prepared than our president to turn things around. He’s managed to put Real Madrid where it belongs, and we have to fight to get Real Madrid back where it belongs.”
He even went on to describe it as a healthy dressing room, despite the incidents that have been made public over the past week.
“It’s a dressing room worthy of Real Madrid. It’s not easy to accept two seasons without a trophy and everything that’s happened. To be a Real Madrid player, you have a lot at stake, and living up to this badge isn’t easy to accept. I’m sure we have to do things better, but I see a healthy dressing room, ready to win again.”
“I’m sure that next year, with more experience, we’ll all improve. This dressing room is younger than the one I was in, and these experiences will help them grow. I repeat, nothing from these past four months makes me say I’m not happy and proud of this dressing room.”
One of the players that has come in for heavy criticism in recent weeks is Kylian Mbappe. That was not helped when he left training shortly after the Valverde-Tchouameni fight laughing hysterically, which was caught on camera.
“For a player to leave training smiling is to take things out of context and make them seem out of place. I can only speak for Carreras; when he’s played, it’s because he’s earned it. In Mbappé’s case, we all know the effort he made to come to Madrid and what he gave up. We’ve all seen him in a Madrid tracksuit as a kid. I feel I have the full authority of a Madrid coach; ultimately, they’re respecting the current coach, and as a player, that’s the most important thing.”
As has been the case throughout the last four months, Arbeloa has been willing to take the blame for any flaws in Real Madrid, defending his players.
“The only thing that worries me and that I reflect on is how I could have made my team win more games. There have been difficult moments these past few months. I know the situation we were in when I arrived, and we won some very tough matches. We beat City, who had just won the FA Cup against Arsenal, and thrashed Chelsea 4-0… and we won both games. We beat Atlético. I certainly feel that against Bayern there were things beyond your control. I often wonder what I could have done to help us win some league games, but that’s what I reflect on. How I could have helped my players win more.”
“I’ve been heavily criticised for not talking about football and more technical aspects. I’ve emphasized my team’s values, and it seems what I said last week attracted a lot of attention, but effort, camaraderie, passion, and hard work must always be demonstrated. Tactically, there’s certainly a lot of room for improvement.”
Real Madrid have a final chance to stave off what looks like an impending La Liga title for Barcelona with a win at Camp Nou on Sunday night at 21:00 CEST. Currently Los Blancos are 11 points behind their rivals, but just as much focus is on the tension in the Real Madrid dressing room.
