Arbeloa: "I'm greatly looking forward to this, it's a huge responsibility"
"We want to be in good physical shape for the opening game, but above all we have to have very clear ideas about the team we want to be," added the Castilla coach.
Álvaro Arbeloa spoke to Realmadrid TV as Castilla get their 2025/26 pre-season campaign underway. The coach discussed his feelings about taking over in the madridista academy side's dugout: “I'm greatly looking forward to this, it's a huge responsibility. I've experienced this club from the inside as a player, through the academy set-up right up to the first team. Now, to have the chance to be part of the Real Madrid academy, the best in the world, is a very special feeling."
“I know what Real Madrid Castilla means for the players, the club and the fans. I hope I can live up to the task entrusted to me. I want to help the lads to take that final step, to prepare them well, but also to represent this crest and instil that competitive spirit that means everything to me."
How is he approaching the challenge?
“With very high expectations, but I want to be close to the guys as well. Castilla is a training team, but it's a competitive one too. I want my players to understand that talent can only take you so far. What makes the difference after that, is the work you put in every day, your desire to improve, to be consistent in your effort."
Preparations
“It's going to be a very intense month and a half. We want to be in good physical shape for the opening game, but above all, we have to have very clear ideas about the team we want to be. We have to work extremely hard from day one, it's about imprinting our identity on this team. It will be a team that takes the initiative, presses high. They will work as a unit and show relentless effort."
His players
“I've been fortunate enough to have shared the path here with some of them over the last few years, I know them well. I know all about their strengths, their qualities, what I have to do to get the best out of them. Of course, they all know me as well."
Experience
“I think I'm more mature and better prepared now, it's the perfect time to undertake a challenge like this. The last five years have helped me become a better coach and lead a dressing room full of young lads with hopes and dreams."
Diego López and his coaching staff
“It's a real luxury to have someone like Diego in the dressing room and on the staff. It will be incredible, not only for the goalkeepers, but for any Real Madrid Castilla player to have someone like Diego around the place. He has been the embodiment of what a professional should be throughout his career. From my point of view, he's joining a coaching staff that is my greatest asset, my greatest attribute, and all anyone could hope for. They are the right guys, and I want them around me on a day to day basis. I'm thrilled that he's come in, and to have the best possible staff by my side."