TA: Alonso s team believes that two new players are needed, but Real Madrid s senior management believes that the lineup is good enough

Hupu August 7th TheAthleticUK Real Madrid team wrote an op-ed article to analyze Real Madrid's summer training.

So, will everything go as planned?

Real Madrid actually wanted to postpone their first La Liga match against Osasuna in the new season, citing that they need more rest after advancing to the late stages of the Club World Cup.

Real Madrid's request was supported by the Spanish Players' Union (and the Osasuna Club itself), but was opposed by La Liga. Ultimately, the Spanish Football Association had the final decision, and the request was rejected by its sole competition referee.

The decision was not popular in Real Madrid, and the club's official TV station responded anger this week.

However, the match against Osasuna will be held a little later than previously expected. The competition is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, August 19, not on the weekend. Although Real Madrid asked to postpone their first game, they always plan to resume training on August 4.

How did they prepare for the start of the La Liga?

On Monday, Real Madrid players underwent a physical examination in the morning and started group training in the afternoon. Since then, individual and group training in the gym has been combined with ball-held training on the training ground, focusing on ball control, shooting, dribbling and small games.

One of the biggest differences between Real Madrid's physical training compared to last season is that it focuses more on the field training, rather than the kind of training that Antonio Pintus advocated when he was in charge of physical training. The Italian player is still working in the club, but his influence is no longer as good as before.

After a series of injuries last season, the team's medical team also made several adjustments.

Two new resident physical coaches Javier Arnez and Ismail Fernandez hired this summer also favor new technologies, such as coordinating muscle training based on body temperature. New analytics of the athletic performance data are being used to better analyze the risk of future injuries.

Real Madrid currently plans to continue training in Valdebebas until next Tuesday (7pm local time) to Innsbruck, Austria for a friendly match with Austrian team Tyrol.

According to staff sources - like everyone quoted in this article, requesting anonymity due to lack of comment permission - scheduling this game was not the coaching staff's advice.

Real Madrid does not intend to stay in Austria for training camp. It wouldn't be surprising if Real Madrid, like in recent years, hosted local teams such as Getafe or Leganes in empty matches that could be held in Valdebebas - in fact, a club source also mentioned the possibility of doing so this summer.

However, the match against Tyrol is expected to be their only warm-up match before the first game of the new season.

Are they ready? Did the Club World Cup help or hinder them?

Real Madrid's feelings about the Club World Cup are very complicated.

A source from the coaching staff pointed out that the U.S. conditions are not conducive to preparations for a variety of reasons—including too short cumulative game time, weather conditions described as "advantage" due to humidity and high temperatures, poor venues, jet lag and the event being held at the end of a full season.

But another source involved in the daily affairs of Valdebebas thinks the Club World Cup is “very useful” because it helps achieve the main goal of “changing the team’s vitality”, which is an improvement over last season.

Alonso and his colleagues want to implement a way to make players show higher intensity in training. Video analysis is more realistic and personalized, and other aspects, such as punctuality, are also well taken care of.

"We are happy, but now we have to start over," the source added. Another debate between Alonso and his team is the need for signings, an idea that emerged before the Club World Cup and has not changed yet.

A source close to the coach said two more players need to be signed. They noted that domestic rivals Atletico Madrid and European Challenger Liverpool have strengthened their roster this summer.

However, club sources believe Alonso's roster is not bad and pointed out that there are currently 24 players registered, and the 25th place (the upper limit of La Liga) is likely to be academy player Gonzalo Garcia.