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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the manager stated emphatically, maybe asserting somewhat excessively. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he continued on the morning before the English champions return to the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest 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”. A defeat and things could shift instantly, and permanently: this moment is an obligation, too.

Emergency Discussions After Dismal Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was in plentiful company. Late into the night, crisis talks carried on, the club’s leadership forming their own opinions after a single win in five league games. Their analyses were not the same and while radical changes are temporarily shelved, patience is finite, the names of potential replacements already out. “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 said. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Swift Decline After Initial Promise

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 perpetually looming after a few setbacks, where even draws will not do, and there’s always someone else who can coach. Things have indeed changed fast, even if the seeds of the problem were there from the start. Sold as a structured planner, the ideal solution after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was a cultural shock at a star-driven institution.

When Madrid won the clásico in late October, they opened a five-point gap 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, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a missive a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. Institutionally, rather than supporting the trainer, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Tensions Emerging

Internally, the verdict was obvious: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Questioned on this point 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.” Frictions had been exposed, a separation between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The components weren't meshing as they should. A common complaint began to slip out about all the orders, the videos, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

More than a week after the clásico, Madrid were overcome at Liverpool, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. Capable of a more direct style, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. After a delay, talks were held to repair cracks or at least cover cracks, 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 compromise had been established; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. Rapprochement was orchestrated when Vinícius hugged the 44-year-old as he departed. A brief break followed. Subsequently, though, Celta defeated them and so it unravels again.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is in doubt is as important as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be disputed, 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 dreadful against Celta: a lack of style, a deficient mentality, a lack of organization.

The Gaffer: The Most Obvious Solution

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 virtually all his replies. The most concise reply he gave might have been the most significant, 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 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 alone that Alonso talked of a collective, 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.”