El Clasico Curse Looms Over Alonso's Madrid Debut

Backdrop

All eyes will be on Real Madrid's historic home, the Santiago Bernabéu, where the world's biggest showdown pits Madrid against Barcelona in the El Clasico, part of the 26th round of the La Liga season.

With nine days to go until the big match, Xabi Alonso, the newly appointed Real Madrid coach, must prepare his team mentally before anything else, then physically, to be at their best and to face the Catalan onslaught, especially after a tough season for the Merengues during clashes with Barça.

Spanish Curse

The Clasico will be Alonso's first match as Madrid's coach; he has never coached the game as a manager before, though he played it many times as a Real Madrid player.

But Alonso's desire to shine in his first Clasico as coach collides with a historic Spanish curse that has afflicted several Spanish coaches who faced Barca for the first time as managers. We review them in this report.

Juande Ramos

Juande Ramos, Real Madrid's former coach, led the Whites in their first Clasico as manager in the 2008-2009 season, but things did not go well and they were defeated 2-0.

At that time Madrid boasted players like Raul, Higuaín, Guti, Sneijder, Saldado, Cannavaro and Ramos, but could not match Barca's golden generation of Alves, Puyol, Abidal, Xavi, with a frontline of Messi, Henry and Eto'o.

Barcelona punished Real by scoring twice in the dying minutes of the match, Eto'o striking in the 82nd minute and Lionel Messi sealing it in the 90+1st minute.

Rafael Benítez

Another Spanish coach who struggled with the Clasico was Rafael Benítez, who led the team in the La Liga Clasico in Round 12 of the 2015-2016 season at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Despite the match being played at Real Madrid's home, Barcelona overwhelmed Real Madrid 4-0, in a game featuring a historic Real Madrid lineup that included Ramos, Varane, Marcelo, Kroos, Modrić, James Rodríguez, Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema and Gareth Bale, but they could not withstand the Catalan storm even with Messi on the bench until 56 minutes of the second half.

Barcelona sealed it with a four-goal display as Luis Suárez scored twice, along with Neymar and Iniesta’s late strike, while Ronaldo managed a consolation for Madrid.

Julen Lopetegui

As for the latest Spanish coach to take Real into a Clasico, Julen Lopetegui did so for the first time in October 2018 in the 10th round of La Liga, but again he did not escape the Spanish curse.

At Camp Nou, Madrid suffered one of their worst-ever defeats, a 5-1 thrashing as Barça’s attack pulsed with Suárez’s hat-trick, Neymar, Coutinho and Iniesta providing the other goals, while Madrid’s strike came from Marcelo.

Spain’s star Luis Suárez shone as usual in this fixture, with two goals, joined by Neymar and Iniesta, while Madrid’s Ronaldo was left with a late tally.

Alonso's Madrid Numbers

Alonso took the Real Madrid helm in the summer, replacing Carlo Ancelotti who had guided the team for years and delivered great feats, but the club felt a change was necessary after a poor season and Clasico disappointments.

Alonso’s new Real Madrid began quickly; Madrid were set to participate in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, and despite a new technical management, Alonso gave his best in a short period, starting with a 1-1 draw against Al-Hilal, then back-to-back wins against Pachuca (3-1) and Salzburg (3-0), advancing to the knockout stage and setting a date with Juventus.

The coach navigated the challenges and overcame Juventus 1-0 to reach the quarterfinals, then beat Borussia Dortmund 3-2, only to suffer a heavy semifinal defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, 4-0, dashing Alonso’s dream of reaching the final and winning the Club World Cup in his first trophy with the club.

With the 2025-2026 season underway, Real Madrid started strongly; in the Champions League they beat Marseille and Kairat Almaty to collect six points in the early group stage.

In La Liga, the Merengues have played eight matches so far, winning seven and losing one, with no draws. Victories came against Osasuna, Real Oviedo, Real Mallorca, Real Sociedad, Espanyol, Levante and Villarreal, while the sole defeat came at the hands of their fierce rivals Atlético Madrid, 5-2.

In 16 matches with Alonso at the helm, Madrid have won 13, drawn 1 and lost 2, scoring 37 goals and conceding 18.

Punchlines

Punchline 1: If Alonso's pre-match pep talk were a stand-up set, Barca would have left the venue early to catch the bus.

Punchline 2: The only thing more dramatic than a Clasico comeback is Alonso finally admitting he left the punchline in the tactical notes: it’s a work in progress, but the preview is hilarious.