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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the manager insisted, perhaps affirming a tad forcefully. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he remarked on the morning before the English champions return to the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest meeting 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 change immediately, and permanently: this chance is an obligation, too.

Crisis Talks After Desperate Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso said he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was not alone. Into the early hours, emergency discussions continued, the club’s hierarchy drawing their own conclusions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their diagnoses were different and while drastic decisions are being postponed, patience is finite, the names of potential replacements already in the public domain. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso stated in the press conference

“Undoubtedly the manager prepared a solid strategy, but ultimately, we the footballers are the ones performing,” Aurélien Tchouaméni remarked. “If we lost 2-0 to Celta, there’s a problem that’s on us: it’s not the coach’s fault.”

A Quick Descent 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 crisis 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 changed fast, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Presented as a structured planner, the ideal solution after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was an anomaly at a players’ club.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they moved five points ahead at the top. They had triumphed in twelve out of thirteen competitive games, although the loss had been heavy: 5-2 at Atlético. It also exposed fissures. Taken off after 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior marched straight down the tunnel, reportedly threatening to leave the club. In a statement a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. Institutionally, rather than backing the coach, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Tensions Brought to the Surface

Behind the scenes, the assessment was evident: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would make the same call, Alonso answered: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Frictions had been laid bare, a separation between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A familiar lament began to surface about all the directives, the video analysis, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over a week after the clásico, Madrid were defeated at Anfield, initiating a spell of two wins in seven. When adopting a straightforward approach, they defeated Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. After a delay, talks were held to mend divisions or at least paper over the issues, to restore tranquility. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some agreement had been found; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. Rapprochement was orchestrated when Vinícius hugged the manager as he departed. A brief break followed. Subsequently, though, Celta beat them and so it unravels again.

That it is known that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny is as significant as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be disputed, but it is deliberate. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about fitness issues and unfairness, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were awful against Celta: no identity, no attitude, an absence of tactical shape.

The Coach: The Most Obvious Solution

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 bring it back to the match, which he did with almost every response. The briefest response he gave might have been the most revealing, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the entire team 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 continued. “We know the culture of Real Madrid pretty well; that is why it is the biggest club in the world. You have to adapt, learn a lot, interact with the players. Some days are good, some not so good. We have to face that with energy and positivity, that is the only way to turn things around.”

It was when he was asked if he felt isolated that Alonso talked of a collective, a club, that goes in unison, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit from above, he commented: “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.”