Germany great, Jurgen Klinsmann, has noted that the likes of Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe will make Xabi Alonso’s job at Real Madrid harder.
According to him, it would be difficult for the Spaniard to convince Mbappe and Vinicius to contribute more defensively.
Alonso, a former Real Madrid midfielder, returned to the club as manager at the end of the season and would remain with the La Liga outfit until June 2028.
Klinsmann, in a recent chat with Marca, was responding to the question whether the former Liverpool midfielder could get his star forwards to track back.
He replied as quoted by Madrid Universal, “Teams with Messi are the only ones that can afford to defend with just 10.
“Even Real Madrid are trying to get Mbappe and Vinicius to drop back to defend. Am I convinced that Xabi Alonso will achieve it? No, really [laughs].”
“Mbappe is no longer a child and Vinicius sees that they don’t defend either and he doesn’t do much either. But they are two personalities that Xabi has to manage, and I’m sure the team will manage to compensate for everything and get the best out of both of them.”
He went further to explain that while at PSG, the manager then found it difficult with Neymar, Mbappe, Lionel Messi.
