Ex-Liverpool defender shares harsh reality of succeeding at Real Madrid in brutal dressing down

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Former Liverpool defender Alvaro Arbeloa, who is now the head coach of Real Madrid Castilla, has delivered a brutal assessment of young center-back talent Joan Martinez, a player regarded as a huge talent at the Bernabeu. "Joan Martinez is a kid with a lot of talent, but he still has a very long way to go," Arbeloa, who left Liverpool in 2009, said.

"If he wants to be a Real Madrid player, he has to know the demands for that position are sky-high. What he’s doing now isn’t enough to be a first-team player." Arbeloa played 98 times for Liverpool between 2007 and 2009 before he moved back to Real Madrid, the team where he came through as a young player.

Former Liverpool full-back Alvaro Arbeloa is now head coach of Real Madrid's Juvenil A team (Image: Angel Martinez/Getty Images) Arbeloa is not the only former Liverpool right-back now in Madrid, of course. "So I think after a while people will realize, and then the next time when he comes back to play, I think the reaction will be completely different." Liverpool.com says: Arbeloa, like Fernando Torres and a few other former Liverpool players, looks to be heading in the right direction in his coaching career.