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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the manager insisted, maybe affirming a tad forcefully. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he added on the eve before Manchester City return to the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest meeting of a very modern classic. “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 shift instantly, and for good: this opportunity is an imperative, too.

Emergency Discussions After Dismal Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso said he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was far from the only one. Late into the night, crisis talks persisted, the club’s hierarchy reaching their own verdicts after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their assessments were divergent and while severe measures remain on hold, patience is finite, 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 stated in the press conference

“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. “If we lost 2-0 to Celta, there’s a problem that’s on us: it’s not the coach’s fault.”

A Quick Decline After Early 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 sharing points is insufficient, and there’s always someone else who can coach. Things have indeed shifted swiftly, even if the origins of the trouble were there from the start. Sold as a tactical disciplinarian, the ideal solution after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was a cultural shock at a squad-centric organization.

When Madrid triumphed in El Clásico in late October, they moved five points ahead at the top. They had won 12 of 13 competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 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 statement a few days later he said sorry to all but Alonso. Institutionally, rather than backing the coach, there was silence.

Tensions Brought to the Surface

Within the dressing room, the conclusion was evident: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Asked here if he would repeat that decision, 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.” Frictions had been exposed, a disconnect between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had voiced his discontent openly. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A typical grievance began to emerge about all the directives, the videos, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

More than a week after the clásico, Madrid were beaten by Liverpool, beginning a run of two wins in seven. When adopting a straightforward approach, they defeated Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to repair cracks or at least cover cracks, to restore tranquility. Focus was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Temporary Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some compromise had been established; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. A thawing of relations was displayed when Vinícius embraced the coach as he departed. Two days off followed. Subsequently, though, Celta defeated them and so it unravels again.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is on the line is as significant as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be denied, but it is intentional. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about fitness issues and bad luck, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were awful against Celta: a lack of style, poor commitment, a lack of organization.

The Coach: The Easiest Target

But the simplest fix, 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 refocus on the match, which he did with almost every response. The shortest answer he gave might have been the most revealing, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the complete roster was behind him, Alonso replied in a one word: “yes.”

“Being Madrid manager is not about changing [the culture]; it is about adapting,” Alonso continued. “We know the culture of Real Madrid pretty well; that is why it is the biggest club in the world. You have to adapt, learn a lot, interact with the players. Some days are good, some not so good. We have to face that with energy and positivity, that is the only way to turn things around.”

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 backing or its absence from above, he answered: “Our contact with the board is continuous, stemming from belief, solidarity, and care. We stand as one in this situation. Our mindset is geared to confront all obstacles: the team is cohesive, fully believing we can triumph tomorrow, with absolute certainty. It's the Champions League. The Bernabéu is our stage. The ambiance will be unforgettable. That fosters a distinct vitality, particularly within the squad.”