Is he, maybe, too nice?
Rafa to Xabi
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Maybe. But they’re just a bunch of cuntish prima donnas
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It’s not like he didn’t know that.
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He knew. He didn’t think they would be THIS cuntish. The cunt-o-meter is at breaking point.
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Nailed it my arse.
Real treat managers like rag dolls on the regular. They always have. They sacked CL winning managers before the next season started. Those were the examples used.
Slot has been setting record by the match…of the all-time negative kind.
Patience is well and good but it has limits.
False equivalence.
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It’s a bit like watching a car crash I slow motion.
Shortly after it was announced that Xabi was going to Madrid, I saw a short interview with Toni Kroos, and he subtly hinted that it might not go well, since he knew the locker room very well. Now I understand a bit better what he meant.
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Interesting. Would be curious to see that if you have a link/know where to look?
Ancelotti poisoned the well there. He let his star players run the show and coast for months on end with the idea that they’d lock in for the stretch run. He was exactly the right fit for a team full of stars.
I think Xabi is more like his mentor, Pep Guardiola. He’s an obsessive who places high demands on his players from day 1. He wants focus and commitment and drive for every match. And that doesn’t sit well with them. Pep had those issues early on at Barca and City, where he pushed out some players that weren’t committed to his vision. Xabi doesn’t have that same cachet at Real Madrid. Perez and the players run the show there.
The plus side to bringing in Xabi after he gets sacked by Real Madrid is that you won’t have to worry about him eventually leaving for Real Madrid, which is what everyone would have been talking about if he was managing us currently.
With Slot only having one year left on his contract anyway, I can foresee a scenario where Slot stabilizes things and departs at the end of the year with his head held high, free to pursue a variety of managerial openings, and Xabi comes in with a summer to implement his vision. A fresh slate for everyone.
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Edit
I couldn’t find the video right now, but this article clarifies a bit what I meant. He mentioned that “the players’ perception” plays a role, etc. I didn’t understand that at the time.
And he said … “Normally you hear what the team thinks about the coach.”
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Poor Xabi,
He is such a lovely guy and excellent football coach. I think he went to Real Madrid too early. You need to go there in your late 40s or 50s so you have at least 10-15 years experience in managing different temperament of players.
I don’t think Real Madrid will sack Xabi unless they have a ready and waiting replacement manager who can handle 30 prima donna players.
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Well, Zizou isn’t coaching anyone right now
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Funny how it’s apparently a horrible place, yet a vast majority of players and coaches accept going there if they’re offered so.
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Just like Chelsea treat players like cattle, yet you don’t see new players snubbing them.
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Like I said, weather is great, location is great, less taxing league in the body (for players), what’s not to like?
Ancelotti and Zidane understood what it takes to manage there which is why they were successful, And it’s not the Klopp/Pep/Xabi/Rafa style management.
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Isn’t he waiting for the French National team job after June 2026?
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It’s like any of us that have a job. We would prefer to turn up knowing it is little more than a holiday camp atmosphere, rather than one akin to a labour camp.
Xabi obviously has high standards and wants his players to feel the same way. However, if a new manager taking his role decides to throw out the sun loungers and the soft underbelly mentality, to replace them with some gruelling SAS type training routines… well obviously, apart from the most dedicated of players, none of them will adjust to change.
For anyone with short memories of his Bitter days, it is not to be forgotten, that Ancelotti is a cnut. Yet he remains wise enough to know as RM manager, he would only be flavour of the month for so long… In other words, why should he give a shit to the toxic culture he was breeding there as long as he could get them to turn up on the main stage.
To outsiders, Xabi will be judged unfairly that he couldn’t get his team to perform. The undercurrent he is swimming against however, is a whole different matter… Will be interesting to see how the scenario at RM unfolds though
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It has nothing to do with Xabi who remains my all-time preferred player in a red shirt, and who will enjoy a great managerial career, but I’m always enjoying these white c*nts getting humiliated on their pitch. The look on the arrogant faces is priceless. 
(Although I’d prefer of course if it wasn’t Abu Dhabi celebrating…)
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the days when we believed that it was agent trent etc and that Bellingham was grounded and a decent bloke…oh those were the days of our delusion of what they were like …madrid shows their true colours as always .
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