Thibaut Courtois denied that Real Madrid’s players tried to get Xabi Alonso fired as coach, after delivering the best performance of his successor Álvaro Arbeloa’s tenure in a 3-0 Champions League win over Manchester City, ESPN report.
Federico Valverde scored a first-half hat trick at the Bernabéu — before Vinícius Júnior missed a penalty — to put Madrid on top in the last 16 tie, ahead of next week’s second leg in Manchester.
Alonso left Madrid in January after a disappointing first half of the season, and was replaced by reserve coach Arbeloa, with ESPN reporting that a number of senior players — including Vinícius and Valverde – had been unhappy with Alonso’s methods.
“Nobody tried to get Xabi fired,” Courtois told journalists after Madrid’s win over City on Wednesday.
“We worked hard. People were saying we didn’t like the tactics, or the videos… Look, I had a coach like Antonio Conte who had us there for an hour every day, and it didn’t matter, because we’re professionals, work comes first.”
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Courtois made one point-blank save in the second half against City, after youngster Thiago Pitarch gave the ball away inside the Madrid box.
The goalkeeper denied that player unrest had contributed to the club’s decision to remove Alonso, midway through his first season at the Bernabéu.
“One thing is playing with your friends, but I’m a professional,” Courtois said. “If I have to watch a half-hour video I’ll do it. That’s how you prepare for games. In the summer I talked to NFL players who are there all day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. or 8 p.m. watching videos, and there’s no problem.
“People have doubted our professionalism. The first months with Xabi went well, and suddenly we had a dip. That happens in football.”
Arbeloa’s brief spell in charge of Madrid has seen the team suffer some poor results, such as their elimination from the Copa del Rey to Albacete, and back-to-back LaLiga defeats to Osasuna and Getafe which ceded the advantage to rivals Barcelona in the title race.
The team visit City next Tuesday, looking to confirm their place in the Champions League quarterfinals.
