Álvaro Arbeloa Tactics At Real Madrid U19 2022/2023 – Tactical Analysis

When a player hangs up their boots and transitions into the career of a football manager, one popular option is to start by coaching at the youth levels of one of their former clubs.

Steven Gerrard began his coaching career at the Liverpool academy before moving to SPFL side Rangers.

Another former Liverpool player trying his hand at management in an academy setting is Fernando Torres, who is currently plying his trade with Atletico Madrid’s U19s.

Their neighbours, Real Madrid, are currently being led by yet another ex-Liverpool player in Álvaro Arbeloa.

The former full-back is enjoying an incredible campaign with the Galacticos’ under-19 squad after a poor outing with the U16s last season – his first season in management.

He has impressed many with the U19s this season, which has led to him being linked with managing the first team in the future  something he is said to be very keen on.

This scout report will provide a tactical analysis of how Real Madrid play under Arbeloa’s leadership, their tactics in possession that have seen them score a bucketload of goals this season, and how they operate off the ball, too.

Our very own analyst, Mak Pakhei, recently visited Real Madrid’s academy training headquarters and spoke with Arbeloa and his staff, providing us with some incredible tactical pointers that we will drip-feed into this scout report.

Any data and match images used in this analysis will be taken from Real Madrid U19s’ fixtures from this season’s UEFA Youth League and Copa del Rey Juvenil due to limitations on access to footage and data of their league fixtures.

However, their league form is important, and 100% ties into the various analysis segments as their tactics remain the same.

Arbeloa’s side are currently top of their league group, having won 22 games out of 25, and remaining unbeaten so far.

In addition, they have a jaw-dropping goal difference of 78 – conceding just 12 goals and scoring 90.

Álvaro Arbeloa Formations

Arbeloa’s side has deployed a 4-3-3 the majority of the time, and this is likely down to its ability to tie in with some elements of their attacking tactics.

They like to utilise pitch width via a wide rotation system, which we will look at in more detail in this scout report – the 4-3-3 encourages this, as the wide forwards can tuck inside, allowing the attacking full-backs to push forward in wide areas.

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