Is Arbeloa the 'lucky general' Madrid need to right their season?

"Exactly 236 days ago, Álvaro Arbeloa was coach of Real Madrid's third team, who'd just lost in the U19 Cup semifinal to Valencia and tied in the league with Atlético Madrid on 75 points. Not necessarily rocket-fuel stuff to propel a man to the Bernabéu hot seat in charge of Vinícius Júnior, Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham, right? Apart from a couple of dust-ups on the touchline with Atlético's youth coach, World Cup-winning Spain teammate Fernando Torres, Arbeloa was largely a forgotten man, hidden from media scrutiny and not quoted, in anyone's wildest dreams, as potentially the next coach of Los Blancos' senior team."

"Four defeats in his first five matches in charge of Real Madrid Castilla, then a 4-1 thrashing by tiny Basque club Arenas on Jan. 10 to set himself up for a night on the sofa watching the Clásico Supercopa final. Some might speculate that this ultra- Madridista would have been wearing Madrid pajamas, scarf, his strip from the 2014 UEFA Champions League-winning season and even a pair of old boots -- but I couldn't possibly comment. We all know what happened next: Xabi Alonso was dismissed from his position in charge of the first team, replaced by Arbeloa."

"After an absolutely tumultuous few days in the the most coveted coaching position anywhere in the world of football, Arbeloa, whose head must be reeling, sits only a point off the top of the league, can pretty much seal a top-eight slot in the Champions League by propelling his team to victory against AS Monaco on Tuesday, and then turn to his detractors and say, "Crisis"

Álvaro Arbeloa moved from coaching Real Madrid's third team to leading Real Madrid Castilla after Raúl González resigned. The Castilla side had recently lost an U19 Cup semifinal to Valencia and was level with Atlético Madrid on 75 league points. Arbeloa experienced early setbacks with four defeats in five matches and a 4-1 loss to Arenas on Jan. 10. Following Xabi Alonso's dismissal, Arbeloa was appointed first-team coach. He now sits one point off the top of the league and can nearly secure a Champions League top-eight position with a win against AS Monaco.

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