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“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” the manager stated emphatically, perhaps protesting somewhat excessively. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he remarked on the eve before Manchester City visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest meeting 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 alter for good, and permanently: this opportunity is an duty, too.

Urgent Meetings After Poor Setback

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso said he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Into the early hours, urgent meetings carried on, the club’s hierarchy forming their own opinions after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their diagnoses were different and while severe measures are temporarily shelved, patience is finite, the names of potential replacements already circulating. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso said here

“For sure the coach had a good plan but, in the end we, the players, are the ones on the pitch,” the French midfielder stated. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Quick Decline After Early Promise

City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it could be his last at a club where a turmoil is never more than a couple of defeats away, where even sharing points is insufficient, and there’s perpetually an alternative who can coach. Things have indeed shifted swiftly, even if the seeds of the problem were there from the start. Presented as a tactical disciplinarian, the ideal solution after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was an anomaly at a players’ club.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had triumphed in twelve out of thirteen competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 5-2 at Atlético. It also exposed fissures. Replaced in the 72nd minute, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a letter a few days later he said sorry to all but 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. Asked here if he would repeat that decision, 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.” 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 typical grievance began to emerge about all the directives, the video analysis, the long sessions. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over a week after the clásico, Madrid were overcome at Liverpool, beginning a run of two wins in seven. Capable of a more direct style, they defeated Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to fix fault lines or at least mask the problems, to bring calm. Focus was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some compromise had been established; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. Rapprochement was staged when Vinícius embraced the coach as he departed. Two days off followed. A few days after, though, Celta overcame 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 disputed, but it is calculated. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about player absences and unfairness, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were terrible against Celta: an absence of character, poor commitment, 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, overshadowed the preparation 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 nearly each answer. The briefest response he gave might have been the most revealing, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the whole squad was behind him, Alonso replied in a single word: “yes.”

“The role of Real Madrid coach isn't to alter the culture; it is to adjust,” Alonso continued. “We understand the ethos of Real Madrid thoroughly; it's what makes it the globe's greatest club. One must adjust, absorb knowledge, engage with the squad. Certain days bring success, others less so. We must confront this with vigor and optimism; it's the sole path to reversal.”

It was when he was asked if he felt alone that Alonso talked of a unit, a club, that goes hand in hand, and when attention was turned to the question of support or the lack of it 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.”