Can Xabi Alonso reinvent Real Madrid? Part Two

How much does Xabi Alonso change?

Thus far, he’s managed exactly one senior club. They’ve pretty consistently played a sort of 3-4-3 system, with some pretty straightforwardly expecting him to do the same thing at the Bernabéu. But Alonso was hardly wed to that system in his playing career. Liverpool under Rafa Benítez pretty much always played a 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2. Real Madrid almost exclusively went for a back four in his time under Manuel Pellegrini, José Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti. Pep Guardiola did switch between a lot of different systems at Bayern, but that’s the only time he experienced a back three as a player. There’s nothing in his past that says he’s an ideologue for this shape.

So what does he do?