The first matches of Real Madrid under Xabi Alonso were partly notable for the absence of some players. Kylian Mbappe missed the group stage due to stomach problems, and the situation with Rodrygo`s future took a new turn as he started only once in the first four Club World Cup games. Perhaps it wasn`t obvious at first, but this situation perfectly set the stage for the emergence of Real Madrid`s surprise star on their way to the tournament`s quarterfinals – Gonzalo Garcia.
The 21-year-old academy product may have started the tournament as a temporary replacement for more famous attacking players not included in the lineup. However, he quickly earned a place alongside Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham. On Tuesday, he started for the fourth time in the tournament and repaid Alonso`s trust by scoring the only goal in the Round of 16 match against Juventus, his third of the championship. His latest goal was a header from a perfectly placed Trent Alexander-Arnold cross – it looked like pure instinct.
Garcia is now among the tournament`s top scorers, tied on three goals with players like Harry Kane of Bayern Munich and Erling Haaland of Manchester City. This is a stark contrast to his status with the team a few weeks ago. Before the Club World Cup began, he had made only six appearances for the senior squad. This might be due to the fact that Real Madrid`s former coach Carlo Ancelotti wasn`t particularly known for developing young players. It remains to be seen whether Alonso will change his approach in this regard, but in any case, Garcia`s progress symbolizes the conditions created by the updated Club World Cup – both good and bad.
Although teams from outside the European elite get their moments of glory, this tournament still favors major clubs, theoretically creating conditions for coaches to experiment with tactics and lineups in the early stages. This is especially relevant after a long season and perhaps even more so for Real Madrid, as this tournament has become the first glimpse of Alonso`s vision for the team before the start of the next season.
Judging by Garcia`s performances, Alonso`s experiments seem to be paying off – he has three goals and one assist in 293 minutes played, and has created three scoring chances. Alonso has already compared him to Raul, Real Madrid`s legendary goalscorer and also an academy product. His notable quality is versatility, allowing him to play anywhere across the attack, which is somewhat different from the team`s high-profile but perhaps less flexible attacking players. He has played a key role as Alonso begins to fine-tune his version of the team, which he hopes will resemble his high-pressing Bayer Leverkusen side, reflecting current tactical trends.
Looking more broadly at the results, Alonso`s plans seem to be coming together. Weeks after a lackluster 1-1 draw with Al-Hilal at the start of the tournament, they showed a dominant attacking game against Juventus on Tuesday. It wasn`t always stylish, but they had 21 shots compared to Juventus`s 6 and would likely have scored more than once if Michele Di Gregorio hadn`t made 10 saves for the Italian side. Real achieved this result through a mix of new and old players, which will likely define Alonso`s early months at the club – key players Bellingham and Vinicius had three and four shots respectively, while Dean Huijsen seems to be settling more into his new role as a ball-playing center-back, and Alexander-Arnold demonstrated with his assist that he is one of the best signings of the summer.
Garcia`s emergence, however, gives Real Madrid depth and variety that were sometimes lacking last season, which ended without domestic or continental trophies. This bodes well for their chances in the Club World Cup, especially after Manchester City`s unexpected exit on Monday, and could instill optimism for the upcoming season.
