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“We are a collective, a single entity, and we are all in this as one,” the Real Madrid coach insisted, possibly protesting a tad forcefully. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he remarked on the day before Pep Guardiola's side 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 alter for good, and for good: this chance is an obligation, too.

Urgent Meetings After Dismal Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s utterly disappointing 2-0 setback on Sunday, Alonso said he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was in plentiful company. Late into the night, crisis talks carried on, the club’s leadership forming their own opinions after a mere one victory in five league games. Their assessments were divergent and while radical changes remain on hold, tolerance has limits, the names of candidates already in the public domain. “These are scenarios you must deal with, yet my mind is fixed only on the game, on what I can influence,” Alonso said here

“For sure the coach had a good plan but, in the end we, the players, are the ones on the pitch,” the French midfielder stated. “A 2-0 defeat to Celta indicates an issue that lies with us, not the manager.”

A Quick Deterioration After Initial Success

City will be his 28th game 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 evolved rapidly, even if the roots of the crisis were there from the start. Hailed as a structured planner, the ideal solution after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was counter-cultural at a squad-centric organization.

When Madrid won the clásico in late October, they established a five-point lead 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. Substituted on 72 minutes, Vinícius Júnior stormed off down the tunnel, threatening to walk straight out the club. In a letter a few days later he apologised to everyone except Alonso. From the club's leadership, rather than supporting the trainer, there was silence.

Tensions Coming to Light

Within the dressing room, the conclusion was obvious: Alonso shouldn’t have taken Vinícius off. Asked here if he would do that again, Alonso answered: “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.” Strains had been exposed, a rift between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had expressed his irritation publicly. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A familiar lament began to surface about all the orders, the film sessions, the extended practices. Who did he think he was, the manager?!

Nine days after the clásico, Madrid were defeated at Anfield, initiating a spell of two wins in seven. Able to play direct, they overcame Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao but between those drew at Rayo, Elche and Girona. Eventually, talks were held to fix fault lines or at least mask the problems, to restore tranquility. Focus turned on the footballers for the first time.

A Short-Lived Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been brought together a day early, it seemed some agreement had been reached; Alonso meeting their needs more than they did his. Rapprochement was staged when Vinícius greeted the manager as he departed. Two days off followed. A few days after, though, Celta beat them and so it unravels again.

That it is public knowledge that Alonso’s future is under scrutiny is as significant as the fact it is. If Madrid beat City, that can always be denied, but it is calculated. Alonso knows that. He also knows, for all that he tried to talk about player absences and unfairness, not even truly believing his own words, Madrid were awful against Celta: a lack of style, a deficient mentality, no structure.

The Coach: The Simplest Fix

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 redirect attention to the match, which he did with almost every response. 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 solitary term: “yes.”

“Being Madrid manager is not about changing [the culture]; it is about adapting,” 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 collective, a club, that goes together, and when attention was turned to the question of support or the lack of it from above, he answered: “Communication [with the hierarchy] is constant, and it comes from confidence, unity and affection. We’re all together in this. We’re mentally ready to face everything that comes: the team is united, convinced that we can win tomorrow, no one has any doubts about that. It is the Champions League. We are at the Bernabéu. The atmosphere will be special. That creates a different energy, including in the players.”