After Real Madrid’s victory over Juventus I was able to attend the Post-Match press conferences from both managers.
First from the Juventus manager Igor Tudor. Like many managers after games he began with giving credit to his team. He said that the team fought valiantly given the circumstances (going to the Bernabeu). He said that Juventus deserved at least one goal throughout the match. Which I think is a fair evaluation as the team had good spells throughout the match especially Vlahovic’s chance and many attempts that were met with close range efforts that were blocked by Eder Militaõ and Raul Asencio. He then credited Vlahovic for his ‘remarkable’ job at putting up a physical battle against the Real Madrid centre backs. He was then asked about a potential red card call for Brahim Diaz which he said comedically he did not remember and did not see which I did not see or remember it either.
Xabi Alonso then began to answer questions. He was proud of the perfect start to the Champions League and how in this league there are no ‘easy games’ (although there are definitely some games that should be won on paper). He was proud of the half time adjustments which neutralised Juventus on the counter attack (for most of the half in my opinion). Many questions were based on two players in particular. The Man of the Match, Arda Guler and the goal scorer, Jude Bellingham. He stated that Arda Guler played fan statically and has the ability to play wherever his is needed, whether that be deeper or more advanced. He said that Arda is a young player that can still develop and loves to be on the ball giving a similar comparison to his previous talisman Florain Wirtz currently at Liverpool. Many asked about Jude Bellingham’s recovery from his shoulder injury and his balance in midfield. Xabi Alonso stated that similar to Arda Guler he has the ability to play where he is needed and that he can pop up as a goal threat. This led to a question about the ability for Jude to replicate his numbers from the 2023/24 season. Xabi Alonso said that Jude is able to contribute in many different ways which can take the form of putting up goal scoring numbers but the most important thing that Jude Bellingham is still young and happy to learn. The big question however was the El Clasico match on the 26th of October. Mainly, about the availability of Eder Militaõ and Dean Huijsen who could potentially feature in the match.
However, the main takeaway from the press conference was that Xabi Alonso was happy with the result and is focused on recovering and prepare for the El Clasico on Sunday.
