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“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” the manager insisted, maybe asserting a little too much. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he continued on the eve before Pep Guardiola's side step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest instalment 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 change immediately, and permanently: this opportunity is an obligation, too.

Emergency Discussions After Desperate Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 home defeat on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “formed his own assessments,” and he was far from the only one. Long after the final whistle, crisis talks continued, the club’s hierarchy reaching their own verdicts after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their assessments were not the same and while severe measures remain on hold, tolerance has limits, the names of potential replacements already in the public domain. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso said here

“Certainly the trainer devised an effective approach, but when it comes down to it, the players execute on the field,” the French midfielder stated. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Quick Decline After Initial Promise

City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it may prove to be his farewell at a club where a crisis is never more than a couple of defeats away, where even draws will not do, and there’s always someone else who can coach. Things have indeed changed fast, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Presented as a systems coach, exactly what they needed after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was counter-cultural at a players’ club.

When Madrid triumphed in El 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 setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also highlighted flaws. Taken off after 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a missive a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. Institutionally, rather than backing the coach, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Tensions Emerging

Within the dressing room, the assessment was evident: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would make the same call, Alonso answered: “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 rift between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The pieces weren’t fitting 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 beaten by Liverpool, starting a sequence of two wins in seven. When adopting a straightforward approach, they defeated Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to repair cracks or at least cover cracks, to bring calm. Focus was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some agreement had been found; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. Rapprochement was staged when Vinícius greeted the manager as he departed. Two days off followed. A few days after, though, Celta defeated them and so it unravels again.

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 deliberate. 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 dreadful against Celta: an absence of character, no attitude, 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, 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 almost every response. The most concise reply 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 one word: “yes.”

“The role of Real Madrid coach isn't to alter the culture; it is to adjust,” 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 collective, a club, that goes together, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit from above, he commented: “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.”