Real Madrid s new coach makes amazing moves, Alonso replicas Guardiola s classic, trying to transform Alaba into a midfielder

Real Madrid's preseason kicked off with an almost unpredictable tactical surprise. Under the instruction of new coach Xavi Alonso, meritorious defender David Alaba appeared in a position that was both familiar and unfamiliar to him - midfielder in a closed-door friendly against Leganes.

Back in the past

For Alaba, this is not a completely foreign character. In fact, Alonso knows Alaba's abilities very well because the two once coached Bayern at Guardiola, fighting side by side.

At that time, Guardiola had arranged Alaba, the panacea player, to be in the midfield or left-back position many times to take advantage of his excellent ball-handling and organizational skills. Nowadays, Alonso is replicating the classic operations of his former mentor.

New Opportunity

This experiment also originated from the new reality faced by Real Madrid's defense line and Alaba himself.

Team level: With the addition of Huyson and the return of Militon, Real Madrid's central defender position has been unprecedentedly fierce.

Player level: 33-year-old Alaba needs a new opportunity to write the final chapter of his glorious Real Madrid career after experiencing a serious cruciate ligament injury.

In the midfield, he can maximize his ball quotient, ball possession and organizational skills. Alonso's bold experiment may become the key to starting another peak season for this meritorious veteran.