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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the manager insisted, maybe asserting a tad forcefully. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he remarked on the eve before the English champions step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for another edition 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 change immediately, and definitively: this opportunity is an obligation, too.

Crisis Talks After Desperate Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was not alone. Into the early hours, urgent meetings persisted, the club’s leadership drawing their own conclusions after a single win in five league games. Their assessments were not the same and while drastic decisions are being postponed, forbearance is running out, the names of candidates already circulating. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso commented

“Undoubtedly the manager prepared a solid strategy, but ultimately, we the footballers are the ones performing,” the French midfielder remarked. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Swift Deterioration After Early Success

City will be his twenty-eighth match in charge of Madrid and it could be his last at a club where a state of emergency is never more than a couple of defeats away, where even draws will not do, 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 systems coach, exactly what they needed after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was counter-cultural at a squad-centric organization.

When Madrid won the clásico in late October, they moved five points ahead at the top. They had won 12 of 13 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 statement a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than backing the coach, there was silence.

Strains Brought to the Surface

Internally, the verdict was obvious: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Questioned on this point if he would make the same call, Alonso replied: “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.” Strains had been brought to the surface, a disconnect between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A typical grievance began to slip out about all the orders, the video analysis, the long sessions. 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 were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to mend divisions or at least mask the problems, to restore tranquility. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been reached; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. Rapprochement was staged when Vinícius hugged the manager as he departed. Two days off followed. A few days after, though, Celta defeated them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is public knowledge that Alonso’s future is on the line is as notable as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be denied, but it is deliberate. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about fitness issues and injustice, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were terrible against Celta: a lack of style, a deficient mentality, an absence of tactical shape.

The Gaffer: The Simplest Fix

But the weakest link, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the on-pitch performance, dominated the buildup to this game. However much the man who is still Madrid’s manager kept trying to refocus on the match, which he did with almost every response. The shortest answer he gave might have been the most telling, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the whole squad was behind him, Alonso replied in a solitary term: “yes.”

“Managing Real Madrid doesn't involve transforming the culture; it requires fitting in,” Alonso stated. “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 by himself that Alonso talked of a team, a club, that goes in unison, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit from above, he commented: “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.”