Xabi Alonso's tenure as Real Madrid manager begins with no easy task: a match-up against a superior Barcelona side. But beyond the immediate challenge lies something far more daunting: a two-decade pattern of failure for Spanish managers at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Xabi Alonso is expected to abandon the three-man defense which brought him success at Bayer Leverkusen in favor of a different setup at Real Madrid, a report has claimed. A 3-4-2-1 formation yielded excellent results for Alonso in Germany.

Real Madrid have seen plenty of changes since their last game in La Liga, not only in terms of players but also in terms of management.Carlo Ancelotti, after all, left the club after the final league