Was Xabi Alonso’s tenure as Real Madrid head coach the club’s shortest ever?
Real Madrid has announced the departure of Xabi Alonso, just seven months on from the Spaniard’s appointment as Bernabéu boss.
Xabi Alonso has departed as Real Madrid head coach, just 34 games into his tenure as Los Blancos’ boss. However, while Alonso’s reign at the Bernabeú was brief, there are numerous coaches who have lasted for an even shorter time at arguably the world’s most demanding soccer club.
Alonso out after Clásico defeat
Appointed by Madrid on June 1, Alonso exits the club seven months on, with confirmation of his departure coming the day after the 15-time European champions lost the Spanish Super Cup final, in a 3-2 Clásico defeat to arch rivals Barcelona.
The former Madrid midfielder, who made 236 appearances for Los Merengues as a player, leaves with the team sitting second in LaLiga, four points behind Barça. That’s a nine-point swing since late October, when victory for Madrid over the Catalans gave Alonso’s men a five-point advantage at the top of the table.
“Real Madrid C. F. wishes to announce that, by mutual agreement between the club and Xabi Alonso, it has been decided to bring his time as first team coach to an end,” the club said in a statement on Monday. “Xabi Alonso will always carry the affection and admiration of all Madridistas because he is a Real Madrid legend and has always represented the values of our club. Real Madrid will always be his home.”
Official Announcement: Xabi Alonso.
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) January 12, 2026
What’s the shortest ever tenure by a Real Madrid head coach?
While Alonso’s tenure at Madrid was fleeting, it was positively long-lived in comparison to the shortest ever reign of a Bernabéu head coach. That unwanted record goes to another former Madrid player: José Antonio Camacho. In 1998, Camacho spent just 22 days as the Spanish giants’ head coach - overseeing zero games - before resigning amid disagreements with the club’s hierarchy.
And, not content with one blink-and-you-miss-it spell as Real Madrid coach, Camacho returned for another six years later. In summer 2004, the former Spain boss was appointed in place of the dismissed Carlos Queiroz - but was out by late September, after just six games in charge.
This century alone, Madrid has witnessed several other coaching tenures that outdo the brevity of Alonso’s.
In 2008/09, Juande Ramos had a mere 27 matches at the helm; in 2015/16, Rafael Benítez led Madrid for just 25 games, before being replaced by Zinedine Zidane; and in 2018/19, Julen Lopetegui managed just 14 games until he was given his marching orders by the club’s president, Florentino Pérez. In March 2019, Lopetegui’s replacement, Santiago Solari, was then dismissed only 32 games into his tenure (Solari has since returned to the club in a directorial role).
Who is replacing Xabi Alonso at Real Madrid?
In a second statement on Monday, Madrid confirmed that the club’s ‘B’-team boss, Álvaro Arbeloa, has been named as Alonso’s replacement. Also an ex-Madrid player, Arbeloa is a former team-mate of Alonso, not only at the Bernabéu, but also in the Spanish national team and at Premier League club Liverpool. You can find out more about the 42-year-old in this profile by AS USA’s Joe Brennan.
Arbeloa is set to oversee his first game as Madrid head coach on Wednesday, Jan. 14, when Los Blancos take on Albacete in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey.
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