Real Madrid Youth Star Scores First Goal Under Xabi Alonso's Coaching

In November 2025, Chema Andres, a midfielder currently playing for Stuttgart, has opened up about his early days in Real Madrid's youth squad under the guidance of Xabi Alonso. Andres, who joined the Madrid academy in 2018 at the age of 13, had the opportunity to work with the legendary Liverpool player as Alonso was beginning his coaching career.

Andres recalls that in the very first match of Alonso's managerial career, he scored the first-ever goal under the Spaniard's leadership. "He was my first coach at Real Madrid. We arrived together in the Under-14 A team, and I scored the first goal in the first match on a rebound, which is a bit of a funny story," Andres said.

However, it was not just the goal that left a lasting impression on Andres, but also Alonso's training sessions. "When training sessions finished, he would stay behind practicing passes to the goalkeepers or long balls that went straight to their feet; it was spectacular," Andres added. "He would have us practice with him, but of course, there was no comparison between his passes and ours."

Andres' journey has taken him from Madrid's youth fields to the center of Stuttgart's midfield, but his memories of working with Xabi Alonso in the early stages of the latter's coaching career remain a defining moment in his career.