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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the manager insisted, perhaps protesting a little too much. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he added on the eve before Manchester City return to the Santiago Bernabéu for another instalment of a contemporary rivalry. “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”. A defeat and things could shift instantly, and for good: this chance is an obligation, too.

Urgent Meetings After Poor Setback

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso said he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Late into the night, emergency discussions continued, the club’s hierarchy drawing their own conclusions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their assessments were not the same and while radical changes remain on hold, tolerance has limits, the names of potential replacements already circulating. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso commented

“Certainly the trainer devised an effective approach, but when it comes down to it, the players execute on the field,” one of the squad's leaders stated. “If we lost 2-0 to Celta, there’s a problem that’s on us: it’s not the coach’s fault.”

A Quick Deterioration After Early Success

City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it might be his final one at a club where a turmoil is perpetually looming after a few setbacks, where even sharing points is insufficient, and there’s invariably another candidate who can coach. Things have indeed evolved rapidly, even if the origins of the trouble were there from the start. Presented as a structured planner, precisely the required remedy after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was an anomaly at a squad-centric organization.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they moved five points ahead at the top. They had won 12 of 13 competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 5-2 at Atlético. It also exposed fissures. Taken off after 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, reportedly threatening to leave the club. In a missive a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Tensions Coming to Light

Behind the scenes, the assessment was evident: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Asked here if he would repeat that decision, Alonso responded: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Tensions had been exposed, a separation between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The components weren't meshing as they should. A common complaint began to emerge about all the orders, the film sessions, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

More than a week after the clásico, Madrid were defeated at Anfield, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, they defeated Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to mend divisions or at least mask the problems, to restore tranquility. Focus was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been established; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. A thawing of relations was displayed when Vinícius hugged the 44-year-old as he departed. A brief break followed. Subsequently, though, Celta overcame them and so it unravels again.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny is as significant as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be rebutted, but it is calculated. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about fitness issues and unfairness, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were awful against Celta: a lack of style, no attitude, an absence of tactical shape.

The Coach: The Simplest Fix

But the weakest link, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the actual football, dominated the buildup 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 nearly each answer. The briefest response he gave might have been the most significant, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the entire team was behind him, Alonso replied in a single word: “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 by himself that Alonso talked of a collective, a club, that goes hand in hand, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit from above, he commented: “Dialogue with the leadership is ongoing, founded on trust, togetherness, and mutual respect. We are all united in this endeavor. We are psychologically prepared for any challenge: the squad is unified, certain of victory tomorrow, without a shadow of doubt. This is the Champions League. We are playing at the Bernabéu. The environment will be electric. That generates a unique dynamism, even among the players.”