Article by Daniel Scorpie – Published Saturday, March 21, 2026, 1:09 p.m. / Updated Saturday, March 21, 2026 1:11 p.m.
Alvaro Arbeloa is very enthusiastic about the match with Atletico at the “Bernabeu” in the 29th round scheduled for Sunday evening. The Real Madrid manager has praised Antonio Rudiger and feels lucky to be able to choose between Jude Bellingham and Tiago Pitarch to start in midfield.
After qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Champions League, 5-1 on aggregate with Manchester City, Alvaro Arbeloa took courage and is very optimistic before the derby with Atletico, in which Real Madrid tries to get revenge after the humiliation (2-5) in the round at the “Metropolitano”, when Xabi Alonso was on the technical bench.
Several statements by coach Blanco surprised at the press conference held today. Of all, however, the one concerning the German defender stood out: “I am willing to make a statue of Rüdiger and put it in my garden.
Arbeloa: “From the first day, Rudiger told me: 'Mister, I will be here in March, when the hard battles will come, and I will be ready'”
He is a player who, from the first day I arrived, always made himself available to the technical staff. I remember perfectly that he sat down next to me and said: “Mister, I will be here in March when the hard battles will come, and I will be ready”.
Antonio Rudiger had a discussion on the field with Pep Guardiola at the end of the match Manchester City – Real Madrid 1-2 / Photo: Imago
Regarding Diego Simeone's slogan, “we are the people's team”, Arbeloa avoided commenting: “I think it's great, I'm focused on my team. But it's a privilege to face him because he's the kind of coach who pushes you to the limit and that makes you think twice about every match”.
The Spanish technician announced that Mbappe is 100% recovered, sent an affectionate message to Carvajal – “he is what we need, a leader” – and another enigmatic one to Courtois: “He is a great goalkeeper and will prove it. We haven't set a deadline, but the luck of Real Madrid is that if the best goalkeeper in history gets injured… we also have a backup to match.”
“When we get to that river, we'll cross that bridge…”
Arbeloa also revealed that the return of Jude Bellingham is imminent and, in this context, entered the debate about what will happen to Thiago Pitarch:
Promoted from the club's academy, Thiago Pitarch has seven games and 366 minutes played since Alvaro Arbeloa's arrival at Real Madrid / Photo: Imago
“When we get to that river, we'll cross that bridge. But how blessed I feel to have to choose! Having Bellingham available is great news, and Thiago's performance was great as well. There are a lot of matches and I like these problems. They can also play together…”.
The Atletico derby is one of the best matches you can experience as a player, spectator… and I'm sure as a coach too. I can't wait to see a full Bernabéu behind us. The truth is that we come with a lot of enthusiasm, with a lot of desire and eager to play against a really big team
– Alvaro ArbeloaReal Madrid coach
