Real Madrid are playing at Anoeta, Mbappé is returning, having already left his mark on the San Sebastian pitch with two goals last season in the Champions League, and they will face a Real Sociedad side that has not yet found its best form. “We will try to get him to arrive as soon as possible,” says Imanol Alguacil, their coach. With the loss of two of their mainstays in recent seasons, Robin Le Normand in defence and Mikel Merino in midfield, both internationals, the txuriurdin team seems to have lost part of the magic that it projected, and that made it a tenant of the VIP zone of the League. With such significant absences, the club breathed a sigh of relief when Zubimendi rejected Liverpool’s offer, which would have left the team in a bad state. “There was no conversation about renewing his contract. He did not set any conditions. He understood that it was a time to stay,” confesses president Jokin Aperribay.
Despite the international’s participation, the start of the championship, with two home defeats against Rayo and Alavés, has generated some concern in the club’s entourage, although away from the Reale Arena, Real Madrid won away against Espanyol and drew in Getafe, because the team’s image has not been as expected in any of the four games. However, the president tries to reassure the fans, because, “we have to escape from daily examinations,” he says. “We cannot think that we are going to manage this without thinking that we are going to have bad moments. That does not exist. We all go through better and worse moments.” And he adds: “Now we have to go through this new stage and identify perfectly what the points of improvement are for the group and demand from the players.”
The Real manager sent these messages during the presentation of Oskarsson and Nayef Aguerd, two of the signings for the first team, which, according to Aperribay, is betting on the future, in which Imanol, despite the results at the start of the campaign, is not in question. In fact, the Real Madrid leadership is already considering his renewal. “Imanol has earned it and we will talk.” For the president of Real it has almost been a gift that the team has not been at its best level at the start of the season. “I am happy that it has started with difficulties. To go far you have to suffer and work, in life there is nothing easy,” he says.
Of course, things are seen differently from the bench. According to Imanol, change must come “as soon as possible”, and he states: “There have been many games and we are not at our best. That is how it is and we have to recognise it, for different reasons. I am not going to complain or make excuses.” According to the coach, “a lot of things have happened and we have to face up to it and recover the very good form of everyone individually and as a team. That is what I am here for. It is not the easiest thing, but there are no excuses.”
However, the Real coach is aware that the investment in young talents that has been designed in the Zubieta offices, with Roberto Olabe as the instigator, could take its toll in the short term. He, like Aperribay, asks for patience from the fans. He speaks of Oskarsson, who already made his debut with the Real shirt in Getafe: “How old is he? Are you sure he is 20 years old? And he has just arrived. He comes from another league,” and refers to other footballers in his squad who have not yet reached sporting maturity. “There is Pacheco, Jon Martín or Javi López. I am going to demand them, but they are young lads, they have not played many minutes in the League. I do not want to turn a blind eye to this,” and he predicts a season that may be complicated. “We are not going to see the best version of this squad this year. They are very young, with a huge margin for improvement. They need a lot of time to give their best version. Hopefully it will be this year, but it is difficult.”
