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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” the manager insisted, perhaps asserting a tad forcefully. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he continued on the morning before the English champions step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for the latest instalment of a very modern classic. “I anticipate the challenge ahead, starting tomorrow—an opening to redirect the disappointment. Our minds are fixed solely on City. Football, for better or worse, is a game of swift changes.” Failure and things could shift instantly, and permanently: this chance is an imperative, too.

Emergency Discussions After Dismal Setback

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso revealed he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Long after the final whistle, urgent meetings persisted, the club’s leadership forming their own opinions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their analyses were divergent and while severe measures are temporarily shelved, patience is finite, the names of candidates already out. “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. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Swift Deterioration After Early Success

City will be his twenty-eighth match in charge of Madrid and it might be his final one at a club where a state of emergency 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 changed fast, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Presented as a systems coach, the ideal solution after a season of permissiveness and underachievement, Alonso was a cultural shock at a players’ club.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they established a five-point lead at the top. They had secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the defeat was emphatic: 5-2 at Atlético. It also exposed fissures. Taken off after 72 minutes, 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. At the executive level, rather than supporting the trainer, there was silence.

Frictions Emerging

Behind the scenes, the verdict was obvious: Alonso was wrong to remove 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.” Tensions had been brought to the surface, a separation between manager and certain squad members. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The components weren't meshing as they should. A typical grievance began to slip out about all the orders, the videos, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Nine days after the clásico, Madrid were beaten by Liverpool, beginning a run of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. After a delay, 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 Short-Lived Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some agreement had been established; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. Reconciliation was orchestrated when Vinícius embraced the manager as he departed. Two days off followed. Four days later, though, Celta overcame them and so it falls apart once more.

That it is known that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny is as notable as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be rebutted, but it is intentional. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about injuries and unfairness, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were terrible against Celta: no identity, poor commitment, no structure.

The Coach: The Simplest Fix

But the weakest link, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the on-pitch performance, was the central theme to this game. However much the man who is still Madrid’s manager kept trying to redirect attention to the match, which he did with virtually all his replies. The shortest answer 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 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 by himself that Alonso talked of a unit, a club, that goes together, 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.”