PIKIRAN RAKYAT - Real Madrid (Spanish) will kick off their sixth campaign for the FIFA Club World Cup trophy by facing Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia) in Group H match at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, Florida, on Thursday, June 19, 2025, early in the morning. Interestingly, this will be the debut match for the coaches of both teams, Xabi Alonso from Real Madrid and Simone Inzaghi from Al Hilal.
Alonso has just been entrusted to handle Madrid to replace Carlo Ancelotti who decided to accept an offer from the Brazilian Football Federation, CBF, to manage the Samba Team. Meanwhile, Inzaghi was brought in by Al Hilal from Inter Milan.
The duel of two young coaches in their debut match will certainly attract a lot of attention. Moreover, these former international players from Spain and Italy have been successful in managing their previous clubs. For example, Alonso led Bayer Leverkusen to win the Bundesliga 2023-2024, ending Bayern Munich's dominance. He also led Leverkusen to win the DFB Cup, runner-up Europa League in the same season.
Alonso's cold hand with Leverkusen is what made Madrid brave enough to bring in the 43-year-old coach to replace Don Carlo. Madrid believes that the former player from 2009-2014 can restore the club's glory, which had to end the last season without any titles. The management believes that Alonso is capable of molding this star-studded team, including achieving high achievements in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
Pre-match mix, as the match against Al Hilal approaches, Alonso has already given some hints. Without paying attention to the big names on the jerseys, he ensures that he will bench them if they play passively and conserve energy.
"Anyone who does not run and does not try will not play. It doesn't matter who they are," Alonso said during the team briefing, as reported by Cadena SER and relayed by BEIN Sports.
"If anyone intentionally conserves energy or doesn't want to chase the ball, I will consider that a foul. First, a yellow card, and if it happens again, I will replace them directly," he said.
In addition to the player materials that have been a mainstay since last season, such as Jude Bellingham, Dani Carvajal, and Kylian Mbappe, Alonso is almost certain to give their debut to two new Madrid players, Dean Huijsen and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who were recently signed from Bournemouth and Liverpool. Both will strengthen the Madrid defense alongside Antonio Ruediger and Fran Garcia.
While in the midfield and defense, as he emphasized, players with high mobility such as Bellingham, Mbappe, and Vinicius will be relied upon to break through Al Hilal's goal.
Contrast strategy
Alonso's tactics and strategies will certainly be tested against the tactics of Inzaghi, the new coach of Al Hilal who previously led Inter to win Serie A 2023-2024, Coppa Italia 2022-23, Supercoppa Italiana 2021, 2022, and 2023, as well as being the runner-up in the Champions League in 2022-2023 and 2024-2025.
With the playing material largely unknown to him, Inzaghi is certainly still feeling his way with the game plan he will implement. However, he must be hoping that Aleksandar Mitrovic and company can continue to show their sharpness, as evidenced by the statistics of 40 goals from 41 appearances with Al Hilal last season.
In the back line, Inzaghi will rely on former Napoli and Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly, as well as ex-Bayern Munich and Barcelona player Joao Cancelo.
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