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“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” the manager stated emphatically, perhaps affirming somewhat excessively. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he added on the eve before the English champions visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for a new 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 for good: this opportunity is an obligation, too.

Emergency Discussions After Poor Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was not alone. Late into the night, crisis talks carried on, the club’s board forming their own opinions after a single win in five league games. Their assessments were different and while severe measures remain on hold, patience is finite, the names of candidates already circulating. “These are scenarios you must deal with, yet my mind is fixed only on the game, on what I can influence,” 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 Descent 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 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 evolved rapidly, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Hailed as a systems coach, precisely the required remedy after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was a cultural shock at a squad-centric organization.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they established a five-point lead at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also highlighted flaws. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior marched straight down the tunnel, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a letter a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Tensions Coming to Light

Internally, the assessment was evident: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Asked here 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 exposed, a rift between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The components weren't meshing as they should. A common complaint began to emerge about all the orders, the film sessions, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Nine days after the clásico, Madrid were beaten by Liverpool, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to mend divisions or at least mask the problems, to bring calm. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Truce

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been reached; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. Rapprochement was displayed when Vinícius hugged the 44-year-old as he departed. Two days off followed. Four days later, though, Celta defeated them and so it falls apart once more.

That it is known 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 deliberate. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about fitness issues and unfairness, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were awful against Celta: a lack of style, a deficient mentality, a lack of organization.

The Coach: The Easiest Target

But the most vulnerable point, 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 redirect attention to the match, which he did with nearly each answer. The shortest answer he gave might have been the most significant, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the whole squad was behind him, Alonso replied in a single word: “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 isolated that Alonso talked of a unit, a club, that goes together, and when attention was turned to the question of support or the lack of it 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.”