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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the Real Madrid coach declared, perhaps protesting a tad forcefully. “Being the manager of Real Madrid means you are always prepared,” he added on the eve before Manchester City step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest meeting of a frequent heavyweight clash. “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.” Failure and things could shift instantly, and for good: this opportunity is an duty, too.

Crisis Talks After Desperate Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso said he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was far from the only one. Late into the night, emergency discussions carried on, the club’s hierarchy drawing their own conclusions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their analyses were divergent and while radical changes are being postponed, tolerance has limits, the names of possible successors already in the public domain. “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,” Aurélien Tchouaméni stated. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Rapid Decline After Initial Promise

City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it could be his last at a club where a crisis is never more than a couple of defeats away, where even draws will not do, and there’s invariably another candidate who can coach. Things have indeed evolved rapidly, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Hailed as a structured planner, precisely the required remedy after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was a cultural shock at a players’ club.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 5-2 at Atlético. It also highlighted flaws. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a statement a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than backing the coach, there was silence.

Frictions Coming to Light

Within the dressing room, the assessment was obvious: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Questioned on this point if he would repeat that decision, Alonso responded: “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 brought to the surface, a separation between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The puzzle pieces weren't aligning as they should. A common complaint began to surface about all the instructions, the film sessions, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over 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. Eventually, 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 Short-Lived Truce

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. Reconciliation was orchestrated when Vinícius hugged the coach as he departed. A brief break followed. Four days later, though, Celta beat them and so it disintegrates anew.

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 deliberate. 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 awful against Celta: no identity, no attitude, no structure.

The Manager: The Simplest Fix

But the simplest fix, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the actual football, overshadowed the preparation to this game. However much the man who is still Madrid’s manager kept trying to refocus on the match, which he did with virtually all his replies. The briefest response 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.”

“The role of Real Madrid coach isn't to alter the culture; it is to adjust,” 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 by himself that Alonso talked of a unit, a club, that goes together, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit 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.”