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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the manager declared, possibly affirming a little too much. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he continued on the day before the English champions visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for another meeting of a frequent heavyweight clash. “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”. Losing and things could alter for good, and permanently: this chance is an duty, too.

Emergency Discussions After Dismal Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was far from the only one. Late into the night, urgent meetings continued, the club’s leadership drawing their own conclusions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their diagnoses were not the same and while severe measures are temporarily shelved, patience is finite, the names of candidates already out. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso commented

“For sure the coach had a good plan but, in the end we, the players, are the ones on the pitch,” the French midfielder said. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Swift Decline After Early Success

City will be his twenty-eighth match in charge of Madrid and it may prove to be his farewell at a club where a turmoil is always just two losses around the corner, where even sharing points is insufficient, and there’s invariably another candidate who can coach. Things have indeed shifted swiftly, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Sold as a structured planner, the ideal solution after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was counter-cultural at a star-driven institution.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they moved five points ahead at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Taken off after 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior marched straight down the tunnel, reportedly threatening to leave the club. In a missive a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. Institutionally, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was radio silence.

Tensions Coming to Light

Behind the scenes, the conclusion was evident: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Asked here if he would do that again, Alonso answered: “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.” Frictions had been exposed, a disconnect 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 slip out about all the directives, the videos, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Nine days after the clásico, Madrid were overcome at Liverpool, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, they overcame Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to fix fault lines or at least paper over the issues, to restore tranquility. Focus was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some compromise had been found; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. A thawing of relations was displayed when Vinícius hugged the manager as he departed. A brief break followed. A few days after, though, Celta overcame them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is known that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny is as notable as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be rebutted, but it is intentional. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about injuries and injustice, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were awful against Celta: an absence of character, no attitude, an absence of tactical shape.

The Manager: The Most Obvious Solution

But the most vulnerable point, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the sporting matters, 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 shortest answer 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 single word: “yes.”

“Managing Real Madrid doesn't involve transforming the culture; it requires fitting in,” 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 isolated that Alonso talked of a collective, a club, that goes together, and when attention was turned to the question of support or the lack of it from above, he answered: “Our contact with the board is continuous, stemming from belief, solidarity, and care. We stand as one in this situation. Our mindset is geared to confront all obstacles: the team is cohesive, fully believing we can triumph tomorrow, with absolute certainty. It's the Champions League. The Bernabéu is our stage. The ambiance will be unforgettable. That fosters a distinct vitality, particularly within the squad.”