Arbeloa's hand enters the scene at Real Madrid and makes us forget Xabi Alonso

Just two weeks ago, Real Madrid looked like a jigsaw puzzle with the pieces scattered all over the board. Today, Alvaro Arbeloa has put the pieces in place. Everything has clicked. The Spaniard arrived with the lesson learned and knowing every corner of the house. In this handful of days he has achieved something that seemed utopian: that Madrid once again resembles a team capable of anything.

The first thing that stands out is the most essential and, paradoxically, the most difficult to manufacture: this team has regained its soul. Where once there were scattered egos, now unity prevails; where lethargy once floated, today camaraderie prevails. The dressing room has closed ranks with two objectives marked on the calendar: La Liga and the Champions League. Arbeloa has managed to turn the crisis into a catalyst, and this group strength can be felt in every training session, in every celebration and in every gesture of complicity between players who once again feel part of something greater than themselves.

Because if the coach has revolutionised anything, it is his way of managing the heavyweights. Vinicius, that subdued leader who needed to feel important, has made a 180-degree turn: more confidence, more freedom and more prominence. "You have to look for him," repeats Arbeloa, aware that a great Madrid inevitably depends on a great version of the Brazilian.

Then there is Fede Valverde, that Swiss army knife who continues to work for the team from the right-back position, but who is now allowed to explore inside spaces, step into midfield and get into the box. This was seen against Monaco and confirmed against Villarreal. Arbeloa wants full-backs who live inside, who break lines and who are more than mere flank-watchers.

That transformation translates into something tangible on the pitch: the matches follow a recognisable pattern. Madrid are more linear, they do not suffer those chaotic disconnectionsthat made them vulnerable, they are balanced as they have not been for a long time. Against Levante they dominated with aplomb, against Monaco they were rampant and against Villarreal they knew how to avoid suffering too much without sitting back, always keeping the door open for another goal. It is a team that is not bleeding to death in defensive transitions nor does it lose its shape when it loses the ball. In fact, they press with more determination.

The most obvious consequence of this new order is the liberation of Thibaut Courtois. The Belgian was putting on his superhero cape game after game, rescuing with saves what the defense gave away with carelessness. Now he is less demanding, calmer under the posts. He only conceded against Monaco, and because of a mistake by Ceballos in the ball out that had little to do with his commendable work. Arbeloa's giant breathes because there are more people committedand his Madrid is generating fewer chances.

The big winners

And in this new ecosystem, players who seemed to be withering have flourished. Franco Mastantuono, who is now a piranha without the ball, biting into every space; Arda Guler, who came on as a substitute and has regained his composure and stripes in midfield - he needs to improve physically, but Madrid need his judgement - and Jude Bellingham, shining more in the 'dirty work' than in the offensive side, becoming that tireless muscle that Arbeloa needs. However, he has not forgotten to score goals, as was seen in the Champions League.

Arbeloa has repaired that fuse that left Madridismo in the dark. Despite the Copa del Rey defeat against Albacete - with only one training session under his belt - he has maintained the line of results that allows his team to be among the eight best in Europe and within reach of Barca in La Liga. This is no mean feat for someone with no experience at the elite level who 15 days ago was coaching Castilla. It is a symptom that problems do not always require messiahs. Sometimes a Spartan is enough.