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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” the manager stated emphatically, maybe protesting somewhat excessively. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he remarked on the day before Manchester City return to the Santiago Bernabéu for another instalment of a frequent heavyweight clash. “I anticipate the challenge ahead, starting tomorrow—an opening to redirect the disappointment. Our minds are fixed solely on City. Football, for better or worse, is a game of swift changes.” A defeat and things could shift instantly, and permanently: this opportunity is an duty, too.

Urgent Meetings After Desperate Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso said he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was far from the only one. Into the early hours, urgent meetings carried on, the club’s board forming their own opinions after a single win in five league games. Their analyses were not the same and while severe measures are being postponed, tolerance has limits, the names of possible successors already circulating. “One must confront such circumstances, but my focus is solely on the match, on elements within my power,” Alonso commented

“Undoubtedly the manager prepared a solid strategy, but ultimately, we the footballers are the ones performing,” 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 Descent 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 crisis is always just two losses around the corner, where even draws will not do, and there’s always someone else who can coach. Things have indeed changed fast, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Hailed as a systems coach, the ideal solution after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was counter-cultural at a players’ club.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they established a five-point lead 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 revealed cracks. Replaced in the 72nd minute, 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. At the executive level, rather than supporting the trainer, there was radio silence.

Strains Emerging

Within the dressing room, the verdict was evident: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Asked here if he would do that again, Alonso replied: “I don’t know what that question is for. If I see in the moment that I have to take a decision on the pitch, I do.” Tensions had been brought to the surface, a disconnect between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The components weren't meshing as they should. A familiar lament began to surface 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, 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. Eventually, talks were held to repair cracks or at least paper over the issues, to bring calm. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been found; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. Rapprochement was displayed when Vinícius greeted the 44-year-old as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. Four days later, though, Celta defeated them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is public knowledge that Alonso’s future is in doubt is as notable as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be denied, but it is calculated. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about injuries 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 simplest fix, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the actual football, 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 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 one word: “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 alone that Alonso talked of a team, 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.”