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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 somewhat excessively. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he remarked on the eve before the English champions visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest instalment of a contemporary rivalry. “I am eager for what lies ahead, beginning tomorrow, a chance to transform the frustration. Our sole focus is City. In this sport, whether good or bad, situations evolve rapidly.” Losing and things could change immediately, and for good: this chance is an duty, too.

Emergency Discussions After Poor Setback

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso said he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was far from the only one. Long after the final whistle, crisis talks persisted, the club’s board reaching their own verdicts after a mere one victory in five league games. Their assessments were different and while drastic decisions remain on hold, forbearance is running out, the names of candidates already circulating. “One must confront such circumstances, but my focus is solely on the match, on elements within my power,” Alonso commented

“For sure the coach had a good plan but, in the end we, the players, are the ones on the pitch,” one of the squad's leaders stated. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Rapid Decline After Initial Success

City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it may prove to be his farewell at a club where a state of emergency is perpetually looming after a few setbacks, where even sharing points is insufficient, and there’s always someone else who can coach. Things have indeed evolved rapidly, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Hailed as a tactical disciplinarian, exactly what they needed after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was counter-cultural at a squad-centric organization.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had won 12 of 13 competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also exposed fissures. Taken off after 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a statement a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. At the executive level, rather than supporting the trainer, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Frictions Emerging

Within the dressing room, the assessment was obvious: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Questioned on this point if he would repeat that decision, Alonso replied: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Tensions had been brought to the surface, a separation between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A typical grievance began to emerge about all the instructions, the video analysis, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

More than a week after the clásico, Madrid were overcome at Liverpool, beginning a run of two wins in seven. Capable of a more direct style, they overcame Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. After a delay, talks were held to repair cracks or at least paper over the issues, to bring calm. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some compromise had been reached; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. A thawing of relations was displayed when Vinícius hugged the coach as he departed. A brief break followed. A few days after, though, Celta overcame them and so it unravels again.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is in doubt is as important as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be disputed, but it is intentional. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about fitness issues and bad luck, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: an absence of character, no attitude, an absence of tactical shape.

The Gaffer: The Easiest Target

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 almost every response. The most concise reply he gave might have been the most revealing, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the complete roster 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. “The culture of Real Madrid is well-known to us; it's the reason for its status as the world's premier club. Adaptation, continuous learning, and player communication are key. There will be highs and lows. Meeting challenges with drive and a positive mindset is the only route to improvement.”

It was when he was asked if he felt alone that Alonso talked of a team, a club, that goes hand in hand, and when attention was turned to the question of backing or its absence 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.”