Real Madrid have moved quickly to change their fortunes this season, sacking Xabi Alonso after just half a season in charge.
Alonso was hired in the summer of 2025 with sky-high expectations, and while Real Madrid are in position to compete on just about every front, their results were not quite good enough for the club's preference.
Additionally, multiple behind-the-scenes issues have arisen during Alonso's tenure, including tension with the squad and a few specific players.
In Alonso's place is now former Real Madrid defender Alvaro Arbeloa, who has been waiting in the wings for his shot at the role.
AllSportsPeople details Arbeloa's coaching career and how he fits as new Madrid head coach.
MORE: The thrilling Supercopa final that led to Alonso's exit
Alvaro Arbeloa coaching career
Arbeloa had never held a senior managerial position before being hired as Real Madrid head coach.
Arbeloa has risen through the club's youth and reserve setup since taking charge of the Under-14 side in 2020. He has been head of Real Madrid Castilla, the club's top reserve team, since May of 2025 when Raul resigned after being passed over for the first-team job a number of times.
Arbeloa was a candidate for the position when Alonso was hired and is highly regarded by the Real Madrid hierarchy.
Is Alvaro Arbeloa interim Real Madrid coach?
Arbeloa is not the interim manager of Real Madrid, at least according to the club.
He was hired as permanent boss, taking over as "new head coach of the first team," according to the club's official announcement.
With such wording, and no mention of any kind of search for a permanent boss, it appears that Arbeloa will be Alonso's full-time replacement.
He was also a candidate at the time of Alonso's hire back in the summer after Carlo Ancelotti's departure.
Alvaro Arbeloa record with Real Madrid Castilla
While youth or reserve-team records are often difficult to find and incomplete in nature, it would appear that Arbeloa has a spotty record as head coach of Real Madrid Castilla since taking over in the summer.
According to Transfermarkt, Arbeloa has won 12 of his 23 matches in charge of Real Madrid's reserve squad, drawing three and losing eight. He suffered through a four-match losing streak in September, before winning 10 of his next 19 matches.
It's hard to place much stock in results with a reserve side. Often the available squad of players is in constant flux, and young players make for a smaller gap in talent between them and their opponents.
That said, in Spain, many of the reserve teams from La Liga clubs compete within the football league system. Madrid Castilla, for instance, are in the third tier — Group 1 of the Primera Federacion division — and were in fourth place in the standings after 19 games when Arbeloa took the top job. That's a reasonably good performance.
Did Alvaro Arbeloa play for Real Madrid?
Yes, Arbeloa played for Real Madrid for much of his career, primarily as a right-back.
After coming through the youth system himself, he made two appearances for the senior team before moving to Deportivo La Coruna. After two years there and another three at Liverpool, he returned to Real Madrid for a further seven years at the Santiago Bernabeu.
From 2009-2016 he played for Los Blancos, scoring six goals in 238 total appearances. He would win two Champions League titles in 2014 and 2016, plus one La Liga title, two Copa del Rey trophies, and one Supercopa de Espana.
Arbeloa also won 56 senior caps for Spain and was part of the squad that won the 2010 World Cup and the European Championship in 2008 and 2012.