Xabi Alonso has come up with an interesting new way of keeping an eye on his players during training in the FIFA Club World Cup.
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Alonso has used a drone to track his players in training Neither Real Madrid nor Alonso have done this beforeNew method used after draw with Al-HilalFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Following Wednesday's disappointing draw with Al-Hilal in his first game as Real Madrid manager, Xabi Alonso introduced the use of a drone to training in Thursday's West Palm Beach session, as reported by Marca. The drone recorded members of the Real squad as they trained, and will be used to gather additional data and information about the players for use by Alonso and his staff.
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This is a method which was reportedly never used by Los Blancos under former manager Carlo Ancelotti, and represents the fresh ideas of Alonso in his major new role. He had been known to test the use of cameras installed across the training pitch during his time with Bayer Leverkusen, but the use of a drone is new to Alonso.
It remains to be seen if this method will become a regular occurrence during the Spaniard's time in Madrid – on this occasion, the drone only recorded the training session of youth players and substitutes from their Club World Cup opening game, as the rest of the squad carried out a gym session elsewhere.
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Real Madrid won a record five Club World Cup titles during the competition's old format. Alonso and his staff will be hoping that their intriguing new training method could inspire Los Blancos onto new glory when the 2025 Club World Cup winner is crowned in July. The early signing of Trent Alexander-Arnold came as proof that Real are taking the competition as seriously as anyone.
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Alonso will lead Real into their second Club World Cup match when they face Mexican side Pachuca on Sunday at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. The 15-time European champions are one of the favourites for the competition, and former Madrid midfielder Alonso will know this summer is a great opportunity to get his managerial career at the club off to the perfect start.