La Liga manager criticises Real Madrid over Xabi Alonso dismissal: ‘Poor decision’

Manuel Pellegrini, current coach of Real Betis and former manager of Real Madrid, has spoken out about the dismissal of Xabi Alonso, criticising the club over a decision he does not consider appropriate.

Real Madrid decided to part ways with Alonso on Monday, a day after the team’s 3-2 Super Cup final defeat to Barcelona, with the inexperienced Alvaro Arbeloa being named as the replacement.

Alonso’s dismissal came after a bad run of form in December, coupled with constant speculations about dressing room unrest.

However, Pellegrini, who faced a similar situation at Real Madrid back in 2009-10 – having been sacked after coming second in the league despite tallying a record 96 points – sympathised with Alonso.

“I feel very sorry for Xabi, because he’s a manager who came with a brilliant career,” said the Chilean coach.

Xabi Alonso was let go of by Real Madrid on Monday. (Photo by Christof Koepsel/Getty Images)

Stating that it was not right for Alonso to be judged so early into his stint at Real Madrid, Pellegrini added:

“I think that judging someone’s work in three or four months, for me personally, isn’t the right thing to do, but I also don’t have all the inside information about why that poor decision was made.”

The Real Betis coach also pointed out how Real Madrid were still alive in all three major competitions – La Liga, UEFA Champions League, and Copa del Rey.

“For better or worse, Real Madrid is also involved in all three competitions, they’re four points behind the leader, they’re still in the Champions League , they’re still in the Copa del Rey,” he noted.

“All processes take time to develop, sometimes they go down, sometimes they go up. And as a coach, you depend solely on the maturity of the management to know how long they can keep you going,” Pellegrini concluded.

Source: Mundo Deportivo