Four days ago, I published a mid-season review of Real Madrid Castilla, detailing the progress of Alvaro Arbeloa and his young players. At the time of writing, it’s important to acknowledge that Arbeloa may not spend the season at Castilla – due to Xabi Alonso’s turbulent period at the club – and that he will be hastily drafted into the first team over the coming months in an attempt to save the day. Little did anyone know that these developments did not take months or even days. Four hours later, Xavi was dismissed and Alvaro Arbeloa became Real Madrid’s new first-team coach. Now that there has been more chaos and drama in the past four days than in the entire first half of the season combined, where does that leave Castilla now?
Newcomer: Julian Lopez
January marks the beginning of a new chapter for Castilla – under a relatively unknown new manager. It took the club three days to find the right person, but the appointment was predictable. Junior A Manager Julian Lopez De Lerma has taken over. Despite having a modest career in the professional game as a player, Julian Lopez is not a big-time former star – but that could spark a refreshing change.
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After Real Madrid players were named to the Castilla bench more than a decade ago, some with strong personalities and ideas, the club have now opted for a quieter figure – one who has earned his stripes behind the scenes by actually spending time on the pitch. He’s not the ambitious former icon who commands headlines or player loyalty based on reputation alone. Instead, he represents a return to the fundamentals of coaching: player development, tactical clarity and humility. This last factor represents what the club desperately needs right now. His coaching career began at Espanyol’s youth academy and since his arrival he has shown a strong record working with Juvenier’s A and B teams, with several Castilla players already getting to know him well. Perhaps the most exciting part is that I know so little about him as a coach, so the possibilities feel great. Who knows – less than half of this century’s first-team coaches have coached Castilla, and we might just be looking at the Real Madrid manager of the future.
Team reinforcements: required
Julian Lopez’s success with Castilla, especially this season, will depend largely on the rest of January. With the transfer window in full swing, the team had to recalibrate quickly after losing their project manager: a slight rebuild of the personnel structure was needed, and glaring gaps in the squad needed to be filled to remain competitive in the play-offs. On that last point, there’s some good news to share…
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The coaching change is not the only thing that has affected Castilla over the past four days. Today the loan of 18-year-old forward Adrian Arnault – from second division side Real Valladolid, where he regularly features – becomes official. The Spain youth international looks skilful and could be a real coup for a reserve side that has been short on attacking options all season. At the midway point of the transfer window, this shows real intent – but it shouldn’t stop there.
Castilla still only have one natural winger and one left-back in their squad. With plenty of games to play and injuries on the rise, tactical flexibility is needed more than ever and the current squad is untenable. Fortunately, the solution may be obvious and cheap: recall wingers Jeremy de Leon and Babakar Dioku from their respective loan spells. Both have performed well in their temporary homes, with Jeremy slowly gaining trust in Hercules and Baba, who I didn’t rate after his appearance last year, but seems to have improved after completely destroying Castilla in his last game (1-4 loss to Arenas De Gejo). Both are capable of filling at least one pair of boots as backups and provide ready, familiar silhouettes to immediately bolster Castilla’s wings, taking the team from one available winger to three.
The club should also aim to bring in a true left-back, a position that has been dangerously thin since the summer. Manu Serrano is not convinced that the overuse of temporary solutions will only hurt Castilla as the season wears on. If two wingers are recalled, plus one or two players – preferably a versatile left-back – then suddenly the play-offs should be the last thing they want. With 15 days left in the transfer market, Castilla will need to act immediately if they are to become more than mere passers-by in the play-offs.
Alvaro Arbeloa
Alvaro Arbeloa’s promotion to the first team shocked many but also confirmed the club’s intention to restore institutional control over the dugout. A likeable figure and emerging coach, his time at Castilla slowly began to blossom, but he left with unfinished work. Even more worryingly, his promotion appears to have been based not on merit but on convenience. The board needs a pleasant figure—someone who is openly compliant and structurally compliant. Arbeloa certainly fits the bill. His tactical philosophy doesn’t suit Real Madrid, and even if it did – would it work? Worse still, this promotion could jeopardize his development and long-term status at the club. First team jobs are notoriously unforgiving, especially in chaotic situations. If the situation worsens or tensions rise, Arbeloa could find himself out of favor upon taking over, having his coaching career prematurely ruined. His early tenure was already troubled, with a Copa del Rey exit at the hands of Albacete and an underwhelming media debut doing little to ease fans’ concerns. I wish him all the best and I hope things end as positively as possible.
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Still, it’s good news for Castile and the academy. Jorge Cestero and David Jiménez started against Albacete, with five other Castilla players filling out the bench. His second team was in La Liga against Levante and included six Castilla players. That will be the case for the rest of his time here – if Alvaro Leiva, a player who even Arbeloa couldn’t trust at Castilla, now breaks into the first team – then every young player at the club will suddenly feel confident and hopeful.
Where can Castile be completed?
Castilla’s mid-season adjustments could easily have derailed them. But for now, it opens a new window, one that brings clarity to the chaos. All things considered, the play-offs remain a very realistic target. Castilla finished fourth and the lack of quality in the department was evident. If Castilla can strengthen their squad further, even just slightly in January, then the play-offs should be their target. They have the talent (Palacios and co), now they need some stability and ambition from the club to give Lopez the tools he needs. With no further development and Arbeloa’s (good) tendency to bring young players into the first team, it will make the options look very slim – risking a slow slide into the mid-table crowd. Hopefully the chaos of the past week will only change the storyline, not the destination. As always, Inside Castile will be following every twist and turn – podcast episodes so far this season as well as Arbeloa’s upcoming podcast episodes. Arbeloa is gone, but the team still has talent, the league is still open and the players are still hungry.