MADRID, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Xabi Alonso held his first training session with Real Madrid on Monday but his debut happened with a reduced squad due to international commitments.
Alonso was confirmed as the replacement for Carlo Ancelotti almost immediately after the end of the recently completed season and the former player, who joined after two successful seasons as coach of Bayer Leverkusen.
He has now begun to prepare for the forthcoming FIFA Club World Cup which Real Madrid kicks off against Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal in Miami on June 18th.
Alonso kicked off his time as Real Madrid coach with his assistant Sebas Parrilla, along with physical coach Ismael Camenforte and Alberto Encinas, but he is still missing several key players and time is at a premium.
The ongoing international fixtures mean Alonso started without new signing Dean Huijsen, who should meet his new teammates for the first time since signing from Bournemouth on Tuesday, when Aurelien Tchouameni and Kylian Mbappe will also be back.
England duo, Jude Bellingham and Trent Alexander Arnold should be back on Wednesday along with Luka Modric, who is out of contract at the end of June.
Meanwhile Andriy Lunin, Arda Guler and Vinicius Jr won't take part in any of the four sessions scheduled to be held at Madrid's Valdebebas training ground and will join up with the squad in the US.
With players such as Thibaut Courtois, Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, David Alba and Fede Valverde all working to return to full fitness from various injuries, Alonso only has Lucas Vazquez, Raul Asencio, Fran Garcia, Dani Ceballos and Rodrygo who are 100 percent fit.
This means he has brought in 10 players from the Madrid B-team (Real Madrid Castilla) to make up the numbers and it also means that his opportunities to carry out tactical work are limited. ■
