Xabi Ancelotti

Real Madrid was adrift in a sea of doubt just a fortnight ago. The team was not clicking and doubts over Ancelotti's formation were being bandied around. Alonso's arrival has only confirmed that systems are not as important as the players.
Real Madrid started to come together for the first time using the 4-3-3, but has continued in that vein with the redraft prompted by Khedira's absence.
In Alonso, Ancelotti has found himself a representative on the pitch and his best ally for getting the players to stick with the system. He is not known as the master for nothing. In a way he is like an on-field coach, which is why Alonso has been seen going over to the dugout since his return to speak with Carletto and then, in turn, relay instructions to the team.
His credentials give him the gravitas to rein in any members of the squad who may be out of position. He did just that to Coentrao in Vallecas, and does not even hold back with either Ronaldo or Benzema, when they are required to start putting on the pressure.
Alonso is, in a nutshell, like Ancelotti under Arrigo Sacchi. In the force to be reckoned with that Milan was at that time, Real Madrid's current manager was the mouthpiece on the pitch for his coach's revolutionary ideas. "Carlo was not very fast on his legs, but he was the smartest and fastest thinker of them all" was how Sacchi described Ancelotti.