Real Madrid – tension, unbearable atmosphere and two groups

"Marca" writes that the Real Madrid dressing room began to fall apart when some players stopped hiding their dissatisfaction with former coach Xabi Alonso.

"It's the nature of football," Marca sources told the Real Madrid club's Valdebebas, referring to the clash between Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchoumanen on Wednesday.

"A strong tackle, fear of injury with the World Cup so close, the tension that 'El Clasico' brings," said the sources, trying to minimize an incident that was nevertheless very serious.

That Wednesday incident, however, remained in the shadow of what happened on Thursday.

A fight between Tchouameni and Valverde, which has much deeper roots, when analyzing everything that has happened this season in the Real Madrid locker room, which is now divided like never before.

The team began to split when several players stopped hiding their discontent with former coach Xabi Alonso. What initially seemed like a simple sporting disagreement turned into an internal rift that over the months resulted in the creation of two factions within the team and increasing tension.

Valverde, Vinicius' supporter, was on the anti-Alonso side.

Tchouameni was with Alonso, the same as with Alvaro Arbeloa. The Frenchman never understood the relentless pressure on the former Real Madrid coach, writes "Marca".

Things started to get worse in October. That month, key players like Vinicius Jr and Valverde openly expressed their dissatisfaction with Xabi Alonso's working methods. Criticism was particularly directed at the tactical intensity of training sessions, the constant analysis of videos and a methodology that was considered too rigid by some players. But for the other group, this was a pretext to attack the coach because of Vinicius' dissatisfaction with the constant change of the team's formation.

From that moment on, the atmosphere began to deteriorate. Part of the team supported Xabi Alonso's ideas and supported the idea of ​​a major change in the style of play. The other group, which also included Bellingham and Camavinga, assessed that the coach's methods were negatively affecting the performance of many players. 

The lack of respect for the coach, with some players pretending to sleep during tactical sessions and others whispering while Alonso spoke, greatly annoyed those loyal to him.

"I didn't know I was coming to a nursery," Alonso finally said, unhappy with the attitude of some players.

The turning point was in "El Clasico" when Vinicius Jr openly showed his discontent. 

Alonso was sacked in January and the club brought in Alvaro Arbeloa. But he found the team in a very bad state. Many of the players did not understand why others were sabotaging a project that had just begun. Tchouameni was among the players who trusted Alonso and felt that the team needed time to adapt to a much more tactical and demanding approach.

For a while the new coach managed to reduce tension and create a sense of stability. There were joint dinners and some positive meetings. But when results were lacking, internal problems emerged. So did revenge. And the last few weeks were terrible.

There have been clashes between players in training, such as the one between Antonio Rudiger and Alvaro Carreras. But the highlight was the two fights between Tchouameni and Valverde, which led to disciplinary proceedings against both players.

There are at least six players who have no contact with Arbeloa. Complaints against the current coach have also increased. Some of Arbeloa's biggest critics are those who were comfortable under Alonso and have fully trusted his project.

The case of Kylian Mbappe, whom some support and some do not, should not be forgotten either.

All of this helps to create a picture of the true state of affairs at Real Madrid.

The biggest problem at the moment is the locker room division. And for this reason, choosing the right coach is a priority, writes "Marca" on Friday.

There is also dissatisfaction with the way team captains are chosen. And troubles have piled up for Madrid on the eve of the "clasico" with Barcelona.