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“We are a united club, a team, and we all move forward together,” the Real Madrid coach declared, maybe asserting a little too much. “When you’re Real Madrid coach you’re ready,” he added on the morning before Pep Guardiola's side return to the Santiago Bernabéu for a new meeting of a contemporary rivalry. “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 permanently: this chance is an obligation, too.

Emergency Discussions After Dismal Home Defeat

Following Madrid’s desperately poor 2-0 loss at their own stadium on Sunday, Alonso stated he had “reached some conclusions,” and he was far from the only one. Long after the final whistle, emergency discussions continued, the club’s leadership drawing their own conclusions after a solitary triumph in five league games. Their assessments were different and while radical changes are temporarily shelved, forbearance is running out, 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 stated in the press conference

“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 Quick Deterioration After Early Promise

City will be his twenty-eighth match 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 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 systems coach, precisely the required remedy after a season of laissez-faire and failure, Alonso was an anomaly at a squad-centric organization.

When Madrid secured victory against Barcelona in late October, they opened a five-point gap at the top. They had triumphed in twelve out of 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 letter a few days later he expressed regret to all apart from Alonso. Institutionally, rather than supporting the trainer, there was radio silence.

Frictions Brought to the Surface

Behind the scenes, the conclusion was evident: Alonso ought not to have substituted Vinícius off. Pressed on the issue if he would do that again, Alonso replied: “The intent behind that question eludes me. When a situation on the pitch demands a choice, I make it.” Frictions had been laid bare, a rift between coach and some players. Federico Valverde too had made his frustrations public. The pieces weren’t fitting as they should. A familiar lament began to surface about all the orders, the videos, the long sessions. 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 defeated 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 paper over the issues, to restore tranquility. Focus was directed at the footballers for the first time.

A Fragile Rapprochement

In Bilbao, where they had been assembled a day early, it seemed some compromise had been found; Alonso yielding to their requests more than they did his. Rapprochement was staged when Vinícius hugged the manager as he departed. A couple of days' rest followed. Subsequently, though, Celta overcame them and so it falls apart once more.

That it is known that Alonso’s future is on the line is as notable 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 fitness issues and unfairness, not even truly convincing himself, Madrid were dreadful against Celta: a lack of style, poor commitment, no structure.

The Manager: The Most Obvious Solution

But the most vulnerable point, is always the manager, and Alonso’s future, more than the actual football, 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 nearly each answer. The briefest response he gave might have been the most revealing, had he truly believed it. Asked if he felt the complete roster was behind him, Alonso replied in a solitary term: “yes.”

“The role of Real Madrid coach isn't to alter the culture; it is to adjust,” 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 by himself that Alonso talked of a collective, a club, that goes hand in hand, and when attention was turned to the question of support or the lack of it from above, he commented: “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.”