Later on today, two former Real Madrid managers - and back in the day, players - will lock horns with one another in the English Premier League in a local derby.
Tonight, at 21:00 CET, the two most recent Real Madrid managers will lock horns, as Alvaro Arbeloa’s Fulham take on Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea in a West London derby at Craven Cottage.
The game is dripping with narrative. All over the place. As mentioned, you have Real Madrid’s two managers from last season, who also played together for Liverpool, Los Blancos and the Spain national team.
Furthermore, as is common practice on Sky Sports’ (UK), Monday Night Football show, they will both be interviewed by their former Liverpool team mate Jamie Carragher, both before and after the game.
Oh, and there is also the fact that Cesar Palacios and Gonzalo Garcia could make their debuts for Fulham, having signed from Real Madrid this summer. Garcia was the Club World Cup golden boot winner under Alonso, and worked with Arbeloa in Castilla (and the first team thereafter). An incredible amount of narrative, excitement and edge to this game, even on match day one of the new Premier League season.
It didn't quite work out for either manager in the Spanish capital last year. Despite a very positive start to the season for Alonso, which peaked with a 2-1 win over Barcelona in El Clasico, alongside a very dominant performance, he was sacked in January after a defeat to the same opponents in the Spanish Super Cup.
He was immediately replaced by Castilla manager, Arbeloa. His first game was the absolute disaster start, with the team losing 3-2 to Albacete in the Copa del Rey. From there, things were never terribly bad, but did not get loads better either. Sort of par for the course considering the hospital pass he was given.
The biggest green flag from his brief tenure was the performances against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. Though the team were ultimately knocked out, it was a tie that could have gone either way, and he showed he can compete with the best coaches in the world.
A lot of Real Madrid fans wish Arbeloa well at Fulham, starting from tonight. There is also some interest to see how Alonso does at Chelsea. Despite how it ended in Madrid, he showed at Bayer Leverkusen that he is a more than capable manager. No doubt that the two of them will share a glass of wine when the game is over, regardless of how the game ends. No doubt lots of the fanbase will be eagerly watching this one.
