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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the manager stated emphatically, maybe asserting a little too much. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he continued on the morning before Manchester City visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for another instalment of a very modern classic. “I’m looking forward to what’s coming and that starts tomorrow, [an opportunity] to turn round the anger. In our heads, there’s only City. In football, for better or worse, things change quickly”. Failure and things could alter for good, and for good: this opportunity is an obligation, too.

Crisis Talks After Desperate Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was far from the only one. Into the early hours, emergency discussions persisted, the club’s hierarchy forming their own opinions after a single win in five league games. Their analyses were different and while drastic decisions are temporarily shelved, tolerance has limits, the names of candidates already in the public domain. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso commented

“Undoubtedly the manager prepared a solid strategy, but ultimately, we the footballers are the ones performing,” the French midfielder remarked. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Swift Decline After Initial Promise

City will be his twenty-eighth match in charge of Madrid and it might be his final one at a club where a state of emergency is always just two losses around the corner, where even draws will not do, and there’s invariably another candidate who can coach. Things have indeed evolved rapidly, even if the seeds of the problem were there from the start. Presented as a systems coach, precisely the required remedy after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was an anomaly at a players’ club.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also exposed fissures. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a letter a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was silence.

Strains Brought to the Surface

Within the dressing room, the conclusion was evident: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Questioned on this point if he would do that again, Alonso answered: “I am unsure of the purpose of that query. If, in the moment, I believe a decision is required on the field, I will make it.” Frictions had been brought to the surface, a rift between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The components weren't meshing as they should. A common complaint began to slip out about all the orders, the videos, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over a week after the clásico, Madrid were beaten by Liverpool, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, they defeated Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to repair cracks or at least paper over the issues, to establish peace. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some agreement had been established; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. Reconciliation was displayed when Vinícius greeted the manager as he departed. Two days off followed. Subsequently, though, Celta beat them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is on the line is as important as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be denied, but it is intentional. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about fitness issues and injustice, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were awful against Celta: an absence of character, poor commitment, a lack of organization.

The Gaffer: The Simplest Fix

But the most vulnerable point, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the on-pitch performance, was the central theme to this game. However much the man who is still Madrid’s manager kept trying to redirect attention to the match, which he did with virtually all his replies. The most concise reply he gave might have been the most telling, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the complete roster was behind him, Alonso replied in a solitary term: “yes.”

“The role of Real Madrid coach isn't to alter the culture; it is to adjust,” Alonso added. “We understand the ethos of Real Madrid thoroughly; it's what makes it the globe's greatest club. One must adjust, absorb knowledge, engage with the squad. Certain days bring success, others less so. We must confront this with vigor and optimism; it's the sole path to reversal.”

It was when he was asked if he felt isolated that Alonso talked of a collective, a club, that goes together, and when attention was turned to the question of backing or its absence from above, he replied: “Communication [with the hierarchy] is constant, and it comes from confidence, unity and affection. We’re all together in this. We’re mentally ready to face everything that comes: the team is united, convinced that we can win tomorrow, no one has any doubts about that. It is the Champions League. We are at the Bernabéu. The atmosphere will be special. That creates a different energy, including in the players.”