How I taught Real Madrid Academy to play through a high press — Alvaro Benito

In The Coaches’ Voice, a series in The Masterclass show where experts share their secrets to the public, former Real Madrid academy coach Alvaro Benito shed some insight on his build-up tactics when the youth sides were faced with a high press.

Benito, who was let go by the club due to some controversial statements last season, still has a bright future in coaching.

Benito’s controversial statements were as follows:

“The problem is there are players that are playing very far from their level,” he said.

”I’m talking about Casemiro who, at the moment, is not good enough to play even a minute for Real Madrid. Kroos is fantastic when the wind is in his favour — when it goes against him, he abandons ship.”

The club let Benito go shortly after his comments, and sources confirmed to Managing Madrid’s Kiyan Sobhani that the sacking was directly related to his criticism.