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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the manager declared, possibly affirming somewhat excessively. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he remarked on the day before Manchester City visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest edition 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”. Failure and things could alter for good, and definitively: this moment is an obligation, 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 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 possible successors already circulating. “One must confront such circumstances, but my focus is solely on the match, on elements within my power,” Alonso commented

“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. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Rapid Decline After Early Success

City will be his twenty-eighth outing in charge of Madrid and it may prove to be his farewell at a club where a state of emergency is always just two losses around the corner, where even sharing points is insufficient, and there’s invariably another candidate who can coach. Things have indeed changed fast, even if the seeds of the problem were there from the start. Presented as a systems coach, precisely the required remedy after a season of lack of discipline and disappointment, Alonso was a cultural shock at a players’ club.

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. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior marched straight down the tunnel, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a letter a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. Institutionally, rather than backing the coach, there was a conspicuous quiet.

Tensions Coming to Light

Internally, the conclusion was evident: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would repeat that decision, Alonso replied: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Frictions had been brought to the surface, a separation between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. 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?!

Nine days after the clásico, Madrid were overcome at Liverpool, initiating a spell of two wins in seven. Capable of a more direct style, they defeated Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. Belatedly, talks were held to mend divisions or at least cover cracks, to establish peace. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been established; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. Reconciliation was displayed when Vinícius hugged the 44-year-old as he departed. A brief break followed. A few days after, though, Celta beat them and so it falls apart once more.

That it is understood that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny is as notable 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 injustice, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: no identity, poor commitment, a lack of organization.

The Manager: 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 bring it back to the match, which he did with nearly each answer. The most concise reply he gave might have been the most telling, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the entire team was behind him, Alonso replied in a one word: “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 isolated that Alonso talked of a unit, a club, that goes in unison, and when attention was turned to the question of endorsement or the deficit from above, he replied: “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.”