Real Madrid Kicks Off the 'Xabineta'

“And the party started, Miami confirmed it to me,” sang one of the summer hits of 2015. Real Madrid aims to turn every match into a 'party' for its fans in the new era that begins this Wednesday in the sunny city of Florida mentioned by Gente de Zona in their catchy tune. It will be there where the Whites launch the 'Xabineta' for the first time in the Club World Cup against Al Hilal. The match against the Saudi team, which has also recently renewed its bench with the arrival of Simone Inzaghi, will serve to assess the embryonic project with which Xabi Alonso hopes to ignite Madridismo.

After a season full of disappointments, the 'White House' decided it was the right time to change course. With Carlo Ancelotti's second stint concluded, it was time to renew the message to reactivate a squad that had settled into a comfort zone and developed bad habits. The chosen one to do so was a familiar face who started his coaching career at the Valdebebas Sports City, grew in Real Sociedad's reserve team, and made his mark at Bayer Leverkusen.

With the aspirin team, he managed to checkmate the mighty Bayern Munich throughout an epic campaign in which only Atalanta, in the Europa League final, managed to strip Xabi Alonso of the 'invictus' nickname he earned by imposing a relentless pace. Now, after a less brilliant but solid last season in Germany, which was enough to bring him back to the Spanish capital, the man from Tolosa must resurrect Real Madrid overnight, which, three weeks after welcoming its new gladiator, is already throwing him to the lions.

Devoid of major titles this season, Real Madrid's eagerness to become the first club to lift the revamped Club World Cup, as it did with the old European Cup, turns the tournament into an early test for Xabi Alonso, who takes on the challenge with full awareness. However, there are numerous questions to be answered, a usual situation whenever there is a change of guard on the bench, but it brings even more uncertainty this time as it marks the Basque's debut in a competition that acts as a watershed between two seasons and has triggered an unusual transfer market created specifically for the event.

Xabi Alonso will have two reinforcements at his disposal this Wednesday at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Dolphins, who will visit Santiago Bernabéu on November 16 to face the Washington Commanders in the NFL's first game on Spanish soil. They are Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen, high-profile signings, awaiting the arrival of Argentine Franco Mastantuono in August and possibly others, who will help the new Real Madrid strategist reshape a defense that was Ancelotti's Achilles' heel due to injuries.

The English full-back and the center-back raised in Malaga will refresh a lineup led by an in-form Mbappé, who has scored twelve goals and provided two assists in his last eight appearances on the pitch, but raises questions about the formation and the pieces to assemble it. The shortage of center-backs, as Rüdiger, Alaba, and Militao are not yet fully fit, suggests that Xabi Alonso will opt for Real Madrid's more classic 4-3-3, rather than the three-center-back system that guided his acclaimed stint at Leverkusen. The choice between a more physical or a more technical midfield can reveal much about the intentions of the Basque, who has insisted to his players on the need to press aggressively. And up front, there is an excellent opportunity to recover Rodrygo, who could be key for the Basque or be sold to raise funds.

Winds of change are also blowing for Real Madrid's first opponent in this Club World Cup. After surrendering the Saudi Pro League crown to Karim Benzema's Al Ittihad, Al Hilal handed the reins to Simone Inzaghi five days after the Italian succumbed in the Champions League final against PSG. The former Inter coach will earn 26 million euros net for each of the two seasons he has signed with the Saudi giant, and his first mission will be to qualify for the round of 16 with a squad featuring familiar faces from European football such as Portuguese Joao Cancelo and Rúben Neves, Moroccan Bono, Brazilians Malcom and Renan Lodi, or the Balkan duo Milinkovic-Savic and Mitrovic.

Real Madrid: Courtois, Trent, Asencio, Huijsen, Fran García, Tchouaméni, Valverde, Bellingham, Rodrygo, Mbappé, and Vinicius.

Al Hilal: Bono, Cancelo, Koulibaly, Al-Bulayhi, Renan Lodi, Rúben Neves, Milinkovic-Savic, Malcom, Marcos Leonardo, Al-Dawsari, and Mitrovic.

Referee: Facundo Tello (Argentina).

Time: 21:00 h.

Stadium: Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

TV: Telecinco and Dazn.