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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” the manager insisted, possibly affirming somewhat excessively. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he remarked on the eve before the English champions visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for a new 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 shift instantly, and definitively: this moment is an duty, too.

Crisis Talks After Dismal Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was in plentiful company. Late into the night, urgent meetings persisted, the club’s hierarchy reaching their own verdicts after a mere one victory in five league games. Their diagnoses were not the same and while drastic decisions remain on hold, patience is finite, the names of potential replacements already out. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso stated in the press conference

“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. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Rapid Deterioration 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 crisis is always just two losses around the corner, where even sharing points is insufficient, and there’s perpetually an alternative who can coach. Things have indeed shifted swiftly, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Hailed as a structured planner, the ideal solution after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, 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 secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also exposed fissures. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a letter a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. At the executive level, rather than supporting the trainer, there was silence.

Tensions Emerging

Behind the scenes, the verdict was obvious: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Asked here if he would make the same call, Alonso responded: “I am unsure of the purpose of that query. If, in the moment, I believe a decision is required on the field, I will make it.” Frictions had been exposed, a disconnect between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A common complaint began to surface about all the directives, the film sessions, the long sessions. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Nine days after the clásico, Madrid were beaten by Liverpool, initiating a spell of two wins in seven. Capable of a more direct style, they defeated Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to mend divisions or at least cover cracks, to establish peace. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some agreement had been established; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. Rapprochement was staged when Vinícius greeted the 44-year-old as he departed. Two days off followed. Subsequently, though, Celta overcame them and so it falls apart once more.

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 rebutted, but it is calculated. 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, a deficient mentality, no structure.

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 bring it back to the match, which he did with virtually all his replies. 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.”

“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 alone that Alonso talked of a team, a club, that goes together, and when attention was turned to the question of backing or its absence from above, he replied: “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.”