Sports
How Arbeloa has won over doubters and given Real Madrid hope
At the end of Álvaro Arbeloa’s news conference following Real Madrid‘s gutsy, gripping 3-2 win over Atlético Madrid in Sunday’s LaLiga derby, there was time for one last question.
It was a simple one. What would you say to those who doubted you? “That they didn’t know the players I had,” Arbeloa replied.
Since taking over from Xabi Alonso in January, Arbeloa has relentlessly shifted the focus on to the players, praising them, and deflecting any credit for Madrid’s turnaround in their general direction.
“I’m lucky to have him,” has been a constant refrain when the coach has been asked about Vinícius Júnior, Federico Valverde, Kylian Mbappé and others. “I’d make a statue of him and put it in my garden,” he said before the derby, when asked about defender Antonio Rüdiger.
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Whether it’s the coach, the players, or both, Madrid have improved since Arbeloa took charge on Jan. 12. Since then, they’ve won 17 of their 21 games in all competitions, losing the other four.
In LaLiga, they’re four points behind leaders Barcelona — the same deficit as when Alonso was sacked — with a potentially decisive Clásico on May 10. In the UEFA Champions League, they will face Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals after eliminating Manchester City 5-1 on aggregate.
In just a few weeks, Arbeloa’s Madrid have beaten three teams coached by managerial greats: José Mourinho’s Benfica, Pep Guardiola’s City and Diego Simeone’s Atlético
It hasn’t all been plain sailing. Arbeloa’s debut as first-team coach saw Madrid knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Albacete. After back-to-back LaLiga defeats to Osasuna and Getafe, club sources told ESPN that barring “a miracle” or winning the Champions League — which at the time, felt like the same thing — Arbeloa would be replaced in the summer.
But results show the coach has, unquestionably, got a number of key things right, starting with his management of one of the team’s biggest — and previously most underperforming — stars.
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Vinícius Júnior, back in form
Vinícius became the public face of dressing-room opposition to Alonso with his petulant on-field reaction to being substituted by the coach during last October’s Clásico.
Alonso’s doubts about the Brazil forward had been evident since last summer — ESPN reported that he considered dropping Vinícius during the FIFA Club World Cup — and the coach left him out of the team in both LaLiga and the Champions League, despite being fully fit. The result: Vinícius lost confidence, went three months without scoring, and was loudly whistled by home fans at the Bernabéu,
Negotiations over a new contract — with his current deal up in 2027 — were at a standstill. ESPN reported that Alonso was a major, perhaps insurmountable, obstacle in Vinícius’s contract renewal.
Arbeloa’s top priority after taking over was to get the former Ballon d’Or runner-up back on side. He has praised and defended Vinícius at every opportunity, making him a fixture in the starting XI again.
“I’m going to work to get the best out of Vinícius,” the coach said in January. “I’m going to demand that [the other] players look for him [with the ball]. He’s fearless. He’s one of the most dangerous players, if not the most dangerous, in the world. He embodies what a Real Madrid player is.”
Arbeloa’s faith and patience were rewarded when Vinícius scored in five consecutive games in February — matching his career-best run — and then scored back-to-back braces against City and Atlético Madrid. When he was substituted late on against Atlético, Arbeloa was waiting with a bear hug on the touchline.
“I don’t know if [Vinícius] is in the best form of his career, but he’s not far off,” the coach said on Sunday.
Speaking while on international duty with Brazil this week, Vinícius said he now wishes to stay at Madrid “for a long time.”
A new role for Valverde
If Vinícius’ transformation has been the most eye-catching of Arbeloa’s tenure, Valverde’s metamorphosis hasn’t been far behind. Valverde was another of the senior players, alongside Vinícius and Jude Bellingham, who — sources close to the dressing room told ESPN — were unconvinced by Alonso.
TV images showed the midfielder unenthusiastically warming up on the sidelines after being left out of the XI for a trip to Kairat Almaty in September, and he was frequently picked at right-back — a position he said he “wasn’t born to play” — in the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dani Carvajal.
Valverde hadn’t scored this season until January’s Spanish Supercopa. Now, under Arbeloa — and after being restored to the marauding right-wing position he thrived in under Carlo Ancelotti — he has scored six goals in a month, including a hat trick against City that made headlines around the world, and the crucial second goal against Atlético.
“Fede is everything a Real Madrid player should be,” Arbeloa said after Valverde scored a 94th-minute winner at Celta Vigo on March 6. “He has the spirit of [1980s club legend] Juanito. He has that quality which the great players in our history have had, and today he carried the team on his back.”
Liberated from right-back, and shifted out wide from a deep-lying central position which looked ill-suited to his skillset, Valverde is thriving. This is no reinvention from Arbeloa. Instead, as with Vinícius, it’s been about giving a talented player confidence, and putting them in a position to flourish.
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Pitarch and homegrown talent
As the former coach of Madrid’s reserve side, Castilla — and before that, with the club’s youth teams — Arbeloa’s first-hand knowledge of the academy was signalled as a positive before his appointment. But the opportunities he has given to young players have been more frequent and more extensive than anybody could have predicted.
In Madrid’s 4-1 win over Elche at the Bernabéu on March 14, Madrid kicked off with one young homegrown talent, midfielder Thiago Pitarch, in the starting eleven, before Arbeloa introduced another five — Gonzalo García, Daniel Yañez, Diego Aguado, Manuel Ángel and César Palacios — off the bench. Madrid were only 2-0 up at the time, the outcome far from certain.
“I can die in peace after a night like this,” Arbeloa said, with a touch of hyperbole, afterward. “For someone who came up through the youth ranks and made it to the first team, this is a day of immense happiness and pride … It reminded me of the Madrid of the [famous 1980s homegrown team] Quinta del Buitre era.”
Arbeloa’s belief in youth has been justified. The energetic, fearless 18-year-old Thiago Pitarch has excelled, starting the team’s last six games, bringing dynamism and movement to a previously static midfield. Yañez contributed an assist against Elche.
Arbeloa has shown that he wasn’t just talking up the academy; he meant it. Sources told ESPN that senior club executives are delighted with his focus on the cantera, conscious of the resulting soaring valuations for homegrown players like Pitarch.
A compact 4-4-2 and a ‘false No. 9’
Pitarch has slotted into an athletic midfield quartet alongside Aurélien Tchouaméni — the team’s other outstanding player in recent weeks — Valverde, and Arda Güler. Vinícius has formed part of Arbeloa’s front two, starting on the left but with the freedom to step inside and take up dangerous, goal-scoring positions inside the box.
Partnering him, in the absence of Mbappé — who has been recovering from a knee sprain — has been Brahim Díaz. Díaz has often underwhelmed since joining Madrid, and made just one start in Arbeloa’s first two months in charge after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations a week into his new coach’s reign. But he has now started Madrid’s last five games, including both legs against City, playing an unshowy, hard-working ‘false No. 9’ role, and growing in stature.
“[Díaz] is understanding well what I want from him,” Arbeloa said on Sunday. “When opponents sit deep, he has a lot of freedom to move between the lines. He wanted opportunities, and just not making mistakes wasn’t enough. He’s a player who should take chances, have one-on-ones, get shots on goal and win penalties like today. That’s the Brahim we need.”
Winning over the doubters
Multiple sources close to the first-team squad have told ESPN that there is a notable improvement in the atmosphere around the Valdebebas training complex — and inside the dressing room — since Arbeloa’s arrival, a welcome sight following the fraught end to Alonso’s reign. Club executives are aware of this change, sources said, and point to it as proof that they made the right decision in removing Alonso when they did. The former coach had been focused almost exclusively on tactical solutions to the team’s problems, sources said, while Arbeloa is less concerned with on-field coaching, and more with supporting the players emotionally and putting them in a position to perform.
However, it must also be said that when results were bad — after the LaLiga losses to Osasuna and Getafe — the picture painted of Arbeloa’s management by sources close to the dressing room was much less positive. Then, some players were critical of Arbeloa’s approach and messaging, while executives said that he was almost certain to lose his job in the summer.
1:53
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What about Mbappé and Bellingham?
The recoveries from injury of Mbappé — who made his return as a substitute against City — and Bellingham — who came off the bench against Atlético — present an opportunity, but also a significant challenge for Arbeloa. Two of the world’s best players are back and available for selection; but their inclusion risks breaking up the cohesive team unit that the coach has been able to build in their absence.
There is no doubt that top scorer Mbappé will replace Díaz, who has been an important part of the team’s success in recent weeks, while Bellingham will come in for either Pitarch or Güler. But while the two superstars possess many qualities, they may find it difficult to emulate those that their lower-profile teammates brought to the side: selfless work-rate and an acceptance of a specific, defined role to benefit the team as a whole.
After the international break, Madrid travel to Mallorca in LaLiga, before hosting Bayern Munich, one of the best teams in Europe, in the Champions League quarterfinals. Despite Arbeloa’s successes in recent weeks, club sources are still reluctant to state that he would remain in charge next season if his Madrid aren’t able to win either trophy.
“I’m not Gandalf,” Arbeloa said last month in another idiosyncratic news conference diversion, when asked about changing the team’s fortunes. “What I’m getting is what I wanted from my players: commitment and effort.”
That back-to-basics approach has worked its magic so far. Eliminating Bayern would be Arbeloa’s greatest trick yet.
Defending champions Lahore Qalandars secured a commanding 69-run victory over Hyderabad Kingsmen in the Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) opener, powered by Fakhar Zaman’s fluent fifty and a disciplined bowling performance at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Thursday.
Set to chase a daunting 200-run target in their maiden PSL appearance, the Kingsmen’s batting unit faltered and could accumulate 130 before getting bowled out in 20 overs.
Captain Marnus Labuschagne remained the top-scorer for the Kingsmen with a cautious 26 off 22 deliveries, followed by No.9 batter Riley Meredith, who made an unbeaten 19 off 25 deliveries.
Besides them, opener Saim Ayub (17), experienced all-rounder Hammad Azam, and tailender Mohammad Ali, 10 each, were the only other batters to amass double figures.
For the Qalandars, Haris Rauf, Sikandar Raza and Ubaid Shah bagged two wickets each, while Mustafizur Rahman and captain Shaheen Shah Afridi chipped in with one scalp apiece.
Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi’s decision to bat first paid dividends as the holders racked up 199/6 in their 20 overs despite a brief top-order collapse.
The three-time champions made a flamboyant start to their innings, courtesy of an 84-run partnership between their openers, Fakhar and Mohammad Naeem.
The crucial partnership was eventually broken by Hassan Khan on the second delivery of the ninth over when he got Naeem caught at long-on by Rizwan Mehmood. The right-handed opener walked back after scoring a 19-ball 30, comprising four fours and a six.
Qalandars then lost two more wickets in the next two overs as top-order batter Abdullah Shafique (four) got run out, while Fakhar fell victim to Hassan shortly after bringing up his half-century.
The left-handed opener remained the top-scorer for the Qalandars with 53 off 39 deliveries, studded with nine fours.
Following the back-to-back setbacks, Haseebullah Khan and Parvez Hossain Emon (14) put together an anchoring 37-run partnership for the fourth wicket, which culminated with the latter’s dismissal in the 16th over.
Haseebullah was then involved in a brisk 45-run partnership with all-rounder Sikandar Raza, who played a quickfire 24-run cameo off just 10 deliveries, featuring two sixes and as many fours.
The wicketkeeper batter remained unbeaten with a 28-ball 40, while Asif Ali and captain Shaheen made handy contributions at the backend, scoring nine and 12 not out, respectively.
For the Kingsmen, Riley Meredith and Hassan picked up two wickets each, while Mohammad Ali made one scalp.
MORGAN PRICE STANDS at the kitchen table next to older sister Frankie, trailing her fingertips over the front panel of a well-worn leather vest. The faded, black material is dotted with colorful patches that offer a glimpse at the life of its owner: their father, Chris.
“I mean, shoot, this was the real him,” Morgan said after spotting a particularly playful patch, which read Bad Ass Brother. Seconds later, Frankie swallows a laugh as she finds another.
Chris Price played for the Kansas City Royals in the late 1990s. But when the sisters reach for memories of their dad, he’s often driving off on one of his custom Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Morgan remembers watching from the laundry room. Frankie is closer, in the garage.
“He would always look back and wave and have the biggest smile on his face,” she said.
But both agree the roaring rumble of the exhaust is a sound they’ll never forget. It punctuates one of the few memories the Prices have of their dad, who died after a 2009 motorcycle accident at age 36. Frankie was 6 years old, Morgan was 4, and their sister Kristin, 2.
Frankie and Morgan say it took several years before they truly understood the impact of the loss. By then, gymnastics had become the outlet through which they honored their father’s memory.
“Chris was very much behind that,” Marsha Price said of the girls’ interest in the sport, “making sure that every day it was, ‘What are you going to do to be better tomorrow?'”
The mantra is a lodestar, left by Chris for his daughters.
“My ‘why’ is representing my last name,” said Frankie, who spent the last four years overcoming injuries and honing her resilience as an Arkansas Razorback. Morgan, meanwhile, repeatedly made history in her three years with Fisk University, which launched the first HBCU gymnastics team in 2023.
But at the end of last season, the sisters came to a crossroads. With a final year of college eligibility left, they each questioned whether or where to spend it.
Individual reflection ultimately led them to the same place: Frankie and Morgan would finish their careers together in Fayetteville.
“We hold it with a lot of pride to be a Price Girl,” Morgan said.
IT’S NINE HOURS before Arkansas’ home meet against fellow SEC foe Kentucky. The Gymbacks warm up on the floor of an empty Bud Walton Arena, sliding over foam rollers as a group before breaking off to perform their own pre-meet rituals.
Frankie heads to a corner of the floor where she will later begin her routine for thousands of Arkansas faithful. For now, she only marks the moves. But her eyes hold an intensity that helps bring to mind the iconic notes of Dr. Dre’s “The Next Episode,” featuring Snoop Dogg — a song that has been part of Frankie’s floor routines her entire Razorbacks career.
“I am Frank Dogg,” she said. “Like, I got that dog in me, you know what I mean?”
Frankie Price’s @SnoopDogg floor routine never disappoints 🤩 @RazorbackGym pic.twitter.com/LEyDt00pLh
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) January 25, 2025
Frankie verbally committed to Arkansas at age 14. She spent high school dreaming of her collegiate debut. But in 2021, just before arriving on campus, she tore her ACL. The 18-month-long recovery process meant she would have to redshirt her freshman season, putting off competition for yet another year.
When she finally entered the Razorbacks vault and floor lineups — with a brace on her right knee, worn ever since — she brought big skills, and an even bigger personality.
“Frankie has this way of just captivating fans and captivating people, even her teammates,” said head coach Jordyn Wieber, who has spent the past seven seasons building Arkansas into a top-10 program. And Frankie has helped make it happen.
In 2023, during her redshirt freshman season, Frankie became the fourth Razorbacks gymnast to tally a 9.975 on floor, good for Arkansas’ highest score since 2014. The following year, she helped Arkansas earn its first 198-plus team score in program history, as well as a spot in the NCAA championship.
Last season, the Gymbacks were in pursuit of a repeat championship appearance. They had already qualified for the regional final when Frankie took the floor in the last routine of the last rotation. But at the end of her first pass, she landed her double layout short and immediately collapsed.
“It was the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life,” she said.
Frankie was carried off the floor, later learning she had ruptured her Achilles tendon. Two days later, she cheered from the sideline as Arkansas competed in the regional final — “for Frankie,” Wieber said after the injury. But the Razorbacks finished in the fourth spot, failing to progress to the national championship.
A few weeks later, Frankie, then a senior, found herself in Wieber’s office. “What do you think about one more year?” her coach asked.
“After my injuries that I’ve been through, I had to just kind of take a step back and focus on my ‘why,'” Frankie said. “My ‘why’ is representing my last name. And that goes back to my dad, because I know that he would want me to push through the hard times and do what I can to represent being a Price Girl.”
The answer to Wieber’s question was simple. She would return to Arkansas to spend her fifth and final season as a Gymback.
IT’S THREE HOURS before the meet begins, and the Razorbacks have returned to the arena floor.
This time, however, the subdued mood of the morning has given way to a lighter energy, as teammates pose for photos and recruit each other to record TikToks.
Amid the activity, Morgan pulls Frankie aside for pictures. For a few moments, they stand hip to hip, an arm around the other’s waist, before breaking off once again.
“If you walked in the gym, you wouldn’t be able to tell they’re sisters,” Wieber said, “because in the gym, they’re teammates.”
The separation is subtle. Yet the Price Girls know each has been destined to chart their own path.
In 2021, shortly after Frankie began her freshman year, Morgan also committed to Arkansas. She says her sister did not factor into her decision, citing instead an excitement to be part of a growing program. The following year, however, Fisk announced it was launching a gymnastics team. Morgan saw this as an even greater opportunity to contribute. She decommitted to Arkansas in favor of Fisk.
“I knew that the decision that I was making was bigger than just gymnastics,” she said.
By becoming a Bulldog, Morgan was making history. In 2024, as a sophomore, she won the all-around title at the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics National Invitation Championship (then known as the USA Gymnastics Women’s Collegiate National Championships), an end-of-season tournament for limited-scholarship teams. And in 2025, she became the first HBCU gymnast to score a perfect 10.0, before taking home a second WCGNIC all-around title.
After climbing to such heights, she couldn’t help but hear the echoes of her father’s ethos.
“I know my dad would want me to strive to be the best,” she said. “I set and reached all my goals that I wanted to at Fisk, and so I was like, ‘You know what? For my last year, I really want to challenge myself.'”
Several weeks after Wieber asked Frankie about another season in Fayetteville, the head coach received a similar question from her sister.
Morgan says she never forgot how supportive Wieber was of her decision to attend Fisk.
“She cares about us as a person first, and then an athlete,” Morgan said. So Morgan decided to reach out and see how the Razorbacks staff would receive a second commitment. “They were just super excited, fully open arms, and so I knew it was the right decision.”
Morgan would transfer to Arkansas to spend her fourth and final season as a Gymback. In May, the sisters shared the news on social media with a photo in which they stood back-to-back, arms crossed and faces focused. It would be the first of many they’d take in matching cardinal leotards. The following month, Fisk announced it was discontinuing its gymnastics program after the 2026 season, a move that shocked members of the inaugural team.
“I think the fact that we’re able to be together, train together, live together, go through our last year of college together,” Frankie said, “is just a great chance for us to bond even more and just stay connected through life.”
IN THE MINUTES before the meet begins, many of the Gymbacks have already taken the floor, their silhouettes outlined by roving spotlights and the jumbotron’s gentle glow. The voice of the PA announcer fills the darkened arena as he begins to name Arkansas’ upperclassmen.
When Morgan, then Frankie, is introduced, they each take a turn atop the podium in the center of the floor, waving back at the swell of cheers.
“They just carry this swagger about them.” Wieber said. “When we walk into an arena with Frankie and Morgan on our team, that gives the whole program, the whole team, just an extra level of confidence.”
This couldn’t have been more evident in Arkansas’ performance against Kentucky. The Razorbacks began on vault, Morgan in the anchor position. With Frankie, Marsha and Kristin cheering her on, Morgan executed a flawless Yurchenko 1.5, scoring the first perfect 10.0 in Arkansas history. Seconds after the score was announced, Frankie wrapped Morgan in an embrace.
THE FIRST PERFECT 10 IN ARKANSAS HISTORY ON VAULT GOES TO MORGAN PRICE‼️🔥#NCAAGYM x 🎥 SECN+ / @RazorbackGym
— NCAA Women’s Gymnastics (@NCAA_Gymnastics) February 21, 2026
Several Gymback sticks followed on the uneven bars, balance beam and floor, where Frankie scored a 9.925, tying her season high. Morgan was the first to congratulate her, bounding onto the floor to share an enthusiastic double high-five.
Though the regular season meet ended in a tie, Arkansas finished ahead of Kentucky at the SEC championship, placing seventh. The performance helped the Razorbacks secure the No. 9 seed in the postseason, automatically qualifying them for the second round of the NCAA tournament.
The Price Girls have spent their entire gymnastics careers in pursuit of “being better tomorrow.” As they reach the close of their final collegiate season, both say they hope it culminates with Arkansas at the NCAA championship.
“The end of it all is that we’re a family,” Frankie said of the team. “No one’s doing it alone — we’re doing it together.”
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