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“This is a team, it is a club, and we all go together hand in hand,” the Real Madrid coach stated emphatically, possibly affirming a little too much. “If you coach Real Madrid, you are prepared for anything,” he remarked on the morning before Manchester City step back into the Santiago Bernabéu for another meeting 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”. Losing and things could shift instantly, and definitively: this chance is an obligation, too.

Crisis Talks After Dismal Loss at the Bernabéu

Following Madrid’s woefully inadequate 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 hierarchy forming their own opinions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their assessments were divergent and while radical changes are temporarily shelved, patience is finite, the names of possible successors already out. “You have to face those situations but my head’s only on the game, things I can control,” Alonso commented

“Certainly the trainer devised an effective approach, but when it comes down to it, the players execute on the field,” one of the squad's leaders remarked. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Quick Descent After Early Promise

City will be his 28th game in charge of Madrid and it might be his final one 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 shifted swiftly, even if the seeds of the problem were there from the start. Presented as a structured planner, the ideal solution after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was an anomaly at a star-driven institution.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they established a five-point lead at the top. They had won 12 of 13 competitive games, although the loss had been heavy: 5-2 at Atlético. It also highlighted flaws. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior headed directly for the dressing room, seemingly ready to quit the club. In a missive a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. Institutionally, rather than reinforcing the manager, there was silence.

Frictions Emerging

Within the dressing room, the verdict was obvious: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would do that again, 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.” Strains had been laid bare, a rift between trainer and a portion of the team. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The components weren't meshing as they should. A common complaint began to slip out about all the directives, the film sessions, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Over a week after the clásico, Madrid were beaten by Liverpool, initiating a spell of two wins in seven. When adopting a straightforward approach, they beat Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those tied with Rayo, Elche and Girona. After a delay, talks were held to mend divisions or at least cover cracks, to bring calm. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Reconciliation

In Bilbao, where they had been gathered a day early, it seemed some middle ground had been reached; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. Reconciliation was staged when Vinícius greeted the manager as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. Subsequently, though, Celta defeated them and so it disintegrates anew.

That it is public knowledge that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny is as important 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 player absences and injustice, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were terrible against Celta: an absence of character, a deficient mentality, a lack of organization.

The Manager: The Most Obvious Solution

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 bring it back to the match, which he did with almost every response. The briefest response 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 solitary term: “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 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: “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.”