This summer’s Club World Cup will be the start of Xabi Alonso’s reign as head coach of Real Madrid, following his move from Bayer Leverkusen at the end of the domestic season. The former

The Real Madrid question Xabi Alonso must solve ahead of Club World Cup - Real Madrid have always been driven by star players - can Alonso break the cycle by imposing a tactical ideology to take the club into a new era?

Unsurprisingly given their domination of the UEFA Champions League in the 21st century, Real Madrid are record five-time winners of the FIFA Club World Cup. However, such an impressive history in the competition will matter little heading into this summer’s reformatted and expanded iteration of the tournament,