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“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” the Real Madrid coach stated emphatically, maybe asserting a tad forcefully. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he continued on the day before the English champions visit once more the Santiago Bernabéu for a new instalment of a contemporary rivalry. “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.” A defeat and things could alter for good, and definitively: this opportunity is an obligation, too.

Urgent Meetings After Desperate Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso said he had “drawn conclusions,” and he was not alone. Late into the night, urgent meetings carried on, the club’s board reaching their own verdicts after a mere one victory in five league games. Their analyses were divergent and while radical changes are temporarily shelved, tolerance has limits, the names of possible successors already out. “These are scenarios you must deal with, yet my mind is fixed only on the game, on what I can influence,” 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 remarked. “Losing by two goals to Celta points to a deficiency in our performance, not the coach's planning.”

A Rapid Decline After Initial 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 always just two losses around the corner, where even ties are unacceptable, 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. Hailed as a structured planner, precisely the required remedy 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 secured twelve victories in thirteen competitive games, although the setback was significant: 5-2 at Atlético. It also revealed cracks. Taken off after 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a missive 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

Internally, the conclusion was clear: Alonso was wrong to remove Vinícius off. Questioned on this point if he would make the same call, Alonso replied: “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 coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A common complaint began to slip out about all the orders, the film sessions, the lengthy training. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over a week after the clásico, Madrid were defeated at Anfield, initiating a spell of two wins in seven. Capable of a more direct style, they overcame Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those were held by Rayo, Elche and Girona. After a delay, talks were held to repair cracks or at least cover cracks, to restore tranquility. Focus shifted to the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some compromise had been established; Alonso accommodating their demands more than they did his. Rapprochement was displayed when Vinícius hugged the coach as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. Four days later, though, Celta beat 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 calculated. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about injuries and injustice, not even truly persuading himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: an absence of character, no attitude, a lack of organization.

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 nearly each answer. The shortest answer he gave might have been the most significant, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the whole squad was behind him, Alonso replied in a single word: “yes.”

“Managing Real Madrid doesn't involve transforming the culture; it requires fitting in,” Alonso stated. “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 unit, a club, that goes together, and when attention was turned to the question of backing or its absence from above, he replied: “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.”